


An Artist's Tale

by WigletsMom



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Artist Rey (Star Wars), Author Ben Solo, Awkward First Times, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Chewie is a dog, Emotional Constipation, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fake Names, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Idiots in Love, M/M, Missed Connections, Misunderstandings, One Night Stands, Online Relationship, Online Romance, Rey Needs A Hug (Star Wars), Rey is a Kenobi (Star Wars), Reylo - Freeform, Sex, Soft Ben Solo, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Unsafe Sex, Walk Of Shame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-13
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:34:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27548416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WigletsMom/pseuds/WigletsMom
Summary: Rey Kenobi wins a contest to illustrate a new series of books for Kylo Ren, a famous but reclusive children’s book author. Little does she know he’s the same man she had a one night stand with a few months ago.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 156
Kudos: 358





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been living in a state of perpetual anxiety recently. I needed something light and fluffy to lift me out of the pit. Hope you guys like this one. I'm going for a "You've Got Mail" sort of vibe. Enjoy! I appreciate all comments and kudos.

Chapter 1 

Rey Kenobi stared at the clock on her computer for the thousandth time today. Four forty-seven. She lifted her eyes to survey the cubicle farm on the fourteenth floor of The Snoke Building, located in the financial district of downtown Coruscant. She worked in the prestigious law firm of The Pryde Brothers, LLC. She was not a lawyer. She was not a paralegal. She wasn’t even an administrative assistant. She was a lowly, and hardly noticed, data entry clerk.

Rey had attended Jakku University and studied art. Her dream had been to move to the big city and maybe one day display her works in a gallery. She imagined living in a trendy loft, eating out at fancy places, meeting cool artsy people. She had imagined being happy. Upon moving to the city, Rey had quickly discovered that a starving artist would literally starve to death without a “real job” to pay the bills. She had reluctantly taken a data entry job for a large law firm. Her roommate Poe Dameron was a low level attorney at the firm and had put in a good word for her. Every day, for hours on end, she entered billable hour data into the computer system. 

Hour after hour, day after day, month after month, her dream slipped farther away. She sometimes thought she might actually die of boredom sitting in this sad little cubicle. She wasn’t even allowed to decorate her workspace. She had a small cactus in a pot next to the computer monitor that nobody had noticed yet. The Pryde Brothers, LLC was extremely formal, down to the dress code.

Rey tugged at the waistband of her pantyhose and sighed. What archaic company actually required female employees to wear pantyhose? This place. Four forty-nine. The day was almost over. She slid her feet back into her heels and noticed that several of her coworkers were quietly packing up for the day. If she clocked out before five o’clock, even one minute early, she would get a stern lecture the following morning. Her commute usually took about an hour, depending on how crowded the subway was. Craning her neck, she caught a glimpse of grey clouds through a nearby window. Excellent. Nothing beats a walk in the rain in heels.

Rey was a creature of habit and very rarely deviated from her routine. She usually arrived home after six o’clock, made dinner with her four (yes four) roommates and then was usually exhausted after that. Sometimes after dinner she would sketch or paint while nursing a glass of wine. There was usually something on Netflix in the background to distract her. Her day left little time for all the things a twenty-five year old woman craved: art, romance, sex, free time. She and her four roommates split a three bedroom condo in Coruscant's East Side. It was the cheapest area of Coruscant to live in, but all the hipsters and young people made it trendy. 

Poe Dameron, her lawyer friend, was the oldest of the group. He shared the largest room with his new husband Finn Dameron. Finn had met Rey at Jakku University during an Intro to Psychology class. The two had sat next to each other on the first day of class and bonded over their similar sense of humor. After graduation, when Finn had moved to Coruscant to work at an accounting firm and to be with his then boyfriend, he offered Rey a spare room in their condo. Rey’s room was the smallest, barely bigger than a closet, but it was _ hers _ .

The third bedroom was occupied by the Tico sisters - Rose and Paige. Paige was Poe’s ex-girlfriend from the time before he was willing to admit to himself that he was gay. Paige had figured it out before Poe had, and the two had been best friends since they broke up. Paige worked in the fashion industry and was the assistant to a well known fashion designer in Coruscant, who went only by Kaydel. Rose was a nurse who worked long shifts at the nearby Skywalker Memorial Hospital. 

Of all of her roommates, Rey felt closest to Rose and Finn. She loved their living arrangement but was terrified that newlyweds Poe and Finn would soon want to live alone, leaving her without someone to split the high rent.

Rey sat down on the hard plastic seat of the subway and exhaled the breath she had been holding. This day had taken forever. Every day takes forever. Something had to change soon. She was tired of being tired and lonely. 

***

“You are not going to believe this!” Rose shrieked in Rey’s face as she stepped into their condo. Rose was holding two glasses of red wine, one in each hand, and Rey sincerely hoped that one of them was intended for her. Rey’s coat and hair were wet from the fine droplets of a light evening rain. Rey’s good luck had, of course, meant that on the walk from the subway to the condo it had decided to start raining. Rey slid out of her blazer and discarded her wet heels by the front door and raised her eyebrows at her roommate. She held out a hand and Rose passed a glass to her. Rey took a large, much needed sip. Pinot Noir. Delicious.

“Well? Are you going to keep me in suspense?” Rey asked as she followed her roommate toward the kitchen island. Rose sat at a stool and turned her open laptop toward Rey, pointing at her screen.

“Kylo Ren is looking for a new illustrator! He’s holding a contest, asking anyone to submit sketches and he’s going to pick a random person to work with him on his next book! Can you believe that? How cool is that? You totally have to do this, Rey! You could be famous and then buy a big house and let me live with you rent free!” Rey leaned down to read the blog entry on the computer. It looked legit. The contest was being hosted on the publisher’s website.

Kylo Ren was a famous children’s book author. Nobody knew much about him because he was a recluse. He never did publicity for his books and his photo wasn’t on his website. He didn’t have any social media accounts. He had written fifteen extremely successful children’s books over the past ten years. Most of the books centered around a character named Yoda that was a little green gremlin creature that frequently got into trouble. Rey had become familiar with the series while doing babysitting gigs in college. Her favorite was “Yoda’s First Day of School.”

“This is crazy. I wonder what happened to Amilyn Holdo? She illustrated all of his other books. Maybe they had a falling out or something.” Rey mused aloud.

“Who cares? You have to do this! Look here. There’s a prompt. The next book is part of a new series called  _ The Adventures of Benji and Chewie _ .” Rose read aloud. “Benji is an eight year old boy and Chewie is his faithful dog and adventure companion. The two get into and out of trouble and have new adventures in each book. To enter, please submit a picture of Benji and Chewie on an adventure. Any medium is permitted, although the author prefers watercolor as per the style of his prior books. To enter, please use the link below. One submission per artist. The winner will be announced on Friday, October 2, 2020.”

Rey took a step back, swirling her wine in her glass as she considered the contest. Surely there would be several hundred, if not thousands, of entries. She didn’t really stand a chance. Right? It just so happened that watercolors were her favorite medium. She allowed herself to imagine how Benji and Chewie looked.

Her mind drifted the image of a large border collie she had seen three months ago. The night she had spent with . . . well . . . a man whose name she didn’t even know. She was still embarrassed to admit that it had been her first and only sexual encounter. The entire office had gone to a posh bar in the financial district to celebrate a major court victory. Even the data entry clerks were invited to have a drink on the company dime. Rey had attended, against her better judgment, and had actually enjoyed herself. She had allowed the bartender to pick a cocktail for her. She had ended up with something he called “The Jedi Killer” which was a bright red fruity cocktail. It had tasted like heaven. After three cocktails, she had struck up a conversation with a tall, dark-haired man playing darts in the back of the bar by himself. He was smartly dressed in an expensive suit. Probably a lawyer or a financial guy. They hadn’t discussed occupations. They hadn’t discussed much, in fact. She didn’t even know his name. He didn’t know hers. They had ended up back at his place. Rey felt heat rise to her cheeks as she remembered the night spent rolling around on his sheets. She snuck out like a coward afterwards. She didn’t leave a note or her name or phone number. On her way out the door, his adorable border collie had sniffed at her and wagged its tail, watching her sneak out into the night.

Rey shook her head, as if the action could clear the intrusive thoughts from her head. “I don’t know, Rose. I’m sure there are a thousand other people better than me who are going to enter.”

Rose gave Rey a withering look. “You don’t know until you try. If you don’t do it, I will never forgive you.”

“Never forgive her for what?” Finn asked, walking into the kitchen and opening the refrigerator. He was followed closely behind by Poe and Paige. Paige put a take out bag on the island and began removing containers of delicious noodle dishes. Paige and Rose’s parents owned a small shop a few blocks away called Tico Island Noodles. If all else failed, the group could always count on the Tico parents to provide them with some free nourishment.

“Rey is going to enter an art contest!” Rose exclaimed.

“Uhh. I never said that.” Rey corrected.

“Why not? You are an amazing artist!” Finn said, popping open the top of a beer can. The others chorused their agreement.

“Well I’m glad everyone else has confidence in me. I tell you what, I will enter and if I win, you all have to take me to dinner and drinks at The Resistance.” Rey gave her roommates a wide toothy smile. The Resistance was a fancy new restaurant with a six month waitlist to get in. It was the sort of place with prices not listed on the menu. Rey imagined a single meal was more than a week’s paycheck. 

“Deal.” Poe said, without consulting his roommates. Finn’s eyebrows were raised and Rose was chewing on her lip. “Let’s eat, kids.” 

The group stood around the island digging into the various noodle dishes as they discussed Rey’s submission. When she finished eating, Rey began sketching her vision for Benji and Chewie. She went through several drafts, critiqued by her roommates. In the end, Benji ended up being a tall, lanky, shaggy haired brunette with an awkwardly large pair of ears and a big nose. Chewie was a beautiful border collie. She drew the boy dressed in a leather jacket and hat similar to Indiana Jones. They were in a cave standing over a glowing gold treasure. A giant spider was lurking just behind them. 

She held up her sketch and a chorus of oohs and aahs made her smile. “Obviously it needs color and better quality paper. I’ll sleep on it tonight and finish it tomorrow.” Rey took her sketch and started down the hall to her room.

“Did you notice she made the dog a collie? Like the one her hot anonymous sex guy had?” Rose was trying to whisper but the wine had made her loud enough for Rey to hear.

“I can hear you!” Rey called down the hallway. She was met with various giggles from the living room.

“Why don’t you just go back there and knock on his door? You know where he lives!” This time it was Poe calling down the hall.

Rey turned around and poked her head back into the living room. “And say what, exactly? Sorry we had hot sex and then I ran away like a weirdo? No, thank you. I’m sure he’s forgotten about me by now.” 

“Uh huh. Sure. Guys always forget about hot sex.” Finn said.

“Good night, guys.” Rey turned on her heels and headed back to her room. 

“I’m just saying, I’d be going back for seconds!” Poe called after her.

“Good night!!!!!” Rey yelled slamming her door behind her. Muttering aloud to herself, “I should never have told them about that night.” Rey sat on her bed and sulked. She had frequently thought about going back to the fancy condo in the Garden District and knocking on the door. Whoever her mystery man was, he was living in the rich people part of town. He was probably way out of her league. She was better off pretending that whole night never happened. She didn’t have time for a boyfriend anyway.

***

Armitage Hux stormed into Ben Solo’s condo with an armload of papers haphazardly crammed into a cardboard box. Hux stalked over to Ben’s wooden antique writing desk and dropped the contents on top, causing Ben to jump back. 

“I told you this was a bad idea. People aren’t following the directions. All these submissions were mailed to the publishing house. People were  _ supposed _ to use the website.” Hux hissed, gesturing to the box. “I think anyone who can’t follow directions should be disqualified.”

“You think everything is a bad idea.” Ben remarked quietly. He began shuffling casually through the stack of artwork. “And no, I’m not disqualifying anyone. I want to see every single submission.” Ben began sorting the submissions into two piles: Maybe and No. He had already spent the past few days reviewing the online submissions. The deadline was tonight at eight o’clock. He had looked at so many sketches that his eyes were going crossed. He still hadn’t found the right one. There were several “maybes” but most were immediately put in the “no” pile.

Ben was starting to worry that maybe he wouldn’t find a new illustrator. Amilyn Holdo, the very talented woman who had illustrated for his last fifteen books, had recently been diagnosed with cancer. She was travelling to Yavin to participate in a research study and receive an experimental drug treatment. He was confident that she would be OK. Amilyn was a fighter. Ben encouraged her to go and focus on her health. The contest had actually been her idea. She was always championing unknown artists and sponsoring their art shows.

Hux hovered over Ben for a few minutes before interrupting, “Don’t you think if there was a clear winner, you would have seen it by now? This is all amateur bullshit art. Look at this,” He pulled out one where Chewie was a fluffy poodle, “I could have done this. This is  _ terrible _ .”

Ben allowed Hux to rant for several minutes. Armitage Hux was one of the few people in the world who knew his identity as Kylo Ren, beloved children's book author. Hux kept his secret and kept crazy fans away from him. Ben was a loner. He didn’t like people or disappointment, and he found those two things often went hand in hand. He had a string of failed relationships behind him, including the one with his parents. Every time he opened himself up, the universe found a way to crush his spirit.

His thoughts drifted back to the brunette from the bar. When was that . . . three months ago? Has it been that long already? He had stopped into that fancy bar after a meeting with his parents. He had badly needed a drink afterward. He was sulking in the back and chucking darts at the wall when a leggy brunette had come over to him. After spending the night with the mystery goddess, he had woken up alone. She hadn’t left him her name or number. Maybe he wasn’t as skilled as he liked to think. He was always ending up alone. Well, not  _ alone  _ alone. He had Chewie, his faithful border collie. 

There was nothing earth shattering in the pile of paper submissions. Maybe Hux was right. A pinging sound from his laptop announced more website submissions ready to review. Ben pushed aside the box and began clicking through them. No. No. No. No. Maybe. No. Hux sighed dramatically and walked toward the kitchen. Ben heard the sound of his refrigerator opening. 

“Want a beer?” Hux called to him.

“Sure.” Ben kept clicking through the submissions. He didn’t spend much time on each. Something either spoke to him or it didn’t. He had a very specific vision in mind. It seemed too many people were trying to copy Amilyn’s style instead of creating their own. 

He stopped when he saw a sketch that looked like the cartoon version of himself as a child. The boy even had his obnoxiously large ears and nose. Chewie was a border collie in the sketch! Finally someone had gotten Chewie right. The artist had drawn them as if they were on an Indiana Jones style adventure. He smiled and spun around in his chair.

“What are you smiling at?” Hux asked, extending a beer to Ben.

Ben took a long swig of beer then gestured to the sketch on his screen.

“We have a winner.”


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

On Friday, Rey woke to the best email of her life. She was sitting in bed, with the covers tucked under her arms, playing on her phone. At the beginning of every day Rey’s routine involved email checking, social media checking and a quick peek at news headlines. She usually did this to delay having to get ready for work. 

> From: Corellian House Publishing <Admin@corellianpub.com>
> 
> To: Kenobi, Rey <Rey_of_sunshine@jakkumail.com>
> 
> Sent: Friday, October 2, 2020 7:02 AM
> 
> Subject: Contest Winner
> 
> Dear Ms. Kenobi,
> 
> Thank you for your recent submission to the illustrator’s contest. We are pleased to announce that Kylo Ren has selected you as the winner! Your submission was picked over almost four thousand other entries. We are pleased to welcome you into the Corellian House Publishing family. You will be contacted shortly by our Human Resources department so that we can have you come in for a meet and greet and to have you sign your contract. Congratulations again.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> The Corellian House Publishing Team

A second email also awaited her.

> From: Ren, Kylo <KRen@coruscant.mail.com>
> 
> To: Kenobi, Rey <Rey_of_sunshine@jakkumail.com>
> 
> Sent: Friday, October 2, 2020 7:45 AM
> 
> Subject: Congratulations
> 
> Ms. Kenobi,
> 
> I was very impressed by your sketch and would like to extend an invitation for you to illustrate my next work. My assistant will be contacting you via the phone number you provided on your entry form to arrange a meeting, contract signing and to send you the rough draft of my next book. 
> 
> You should know that you have the gratitude and respect of my dog Chewie, who happens to be a border collie. Although, Chewie likes everyone so you should take that with a grain of salt.
> 
> I look forward to seeing your first sketches.
> 
> Kylo Ren

  
  


Unable to contain her joy any longer, Rey bounced on her bed and let out a loud scream. A few seconds later, Finn burst into her room with a baseball bat raised to strike an imaginary intruder. Seeing Rey alone bouncing on her bed, he lowered the bat. The rest of the roommates crowded into her room.

“I won! I won the contest!”

***

Later that evening, Rey sat in the reception area of Corellian House Publishing. She tugged nervously at her skirt, wondering if it was too short for a first meeting with her new employer. The black A-line skirt fell just above the knee. She was wearing her pantyhose, having come straight from work. She wondered if she should dash in the ladies room and take them off but apparently the formality of Pryde Brothers, LLC was starting to wear off on her. It was Friday evening and she had an appointment at six o’clock. Mr. Ren’s assistant had called her promptly at nine in the morning to make the arrangements for her to come in. She didn’t have enough time to take off from work, but Mr. Hux graciously agreed to meet her today after business hours.

Rey distracted herself by looking around the lobby. It looked very modern and clean. The walls were a soft cream color and the floors were that trendy rustic grey wood color. There were several metal sculptures hanging from the wall. She couldn’t decide if the sculptures were supposed to _be_ something or if they were just abstract. In the end she decided abstract. Not her style, but not horrible. She looked out the window at the view of Coruscant below. They were just a few blocks away from The Snoke Building, where she spent her work day. 

A tall, severe looking man with red hair entered the lobby and called her name. Rey looked up into his pale blue eyes and wondered if this was Kylo Ren. His eyes raked over her as if cataloguing the details, perhaps judging her. She hoped she was passing whatever test this was. 

Rey stood and extended her hand, “Yes, hello. I am Rey Kenobi. Are you Mister Ren?” 

The man laughed and rolled his eyes, “He wishes.”

Rey wasn’t sure what sort of reaction to have so she chose to remain silent with a polite yet confused smile on her face.

The man continued, “I am Armitage Hux, Mr. Ren’s agent. Mr. Ren will not be joining us today. Follow me.” He started off down a long hallway and gestured for Rey to follow behind him. She scurried in her stilettos trying to keep up. Mr. Hux led her into a conference room filled with several people. 

“I was under the impression that Mr. Ren would be at the meeting today?” She was slightly breathless from hurrying behind him in the hallway. She exhaled deeply to try and maintain an aura of calm.

“No, Mr. Ren prefers to keep his distance. It will probably be some time before you actually meet him, if you ever do. He only met his prior illustrator a handful of times over ten years. He’s a recluse.” Hux pulled out a chair for Rey and gestured for her to sit.  
  
Rey tried to keep the disappointment off her face as she took her seat. How could you be expected to work with someone and never actually meet them? She’d have to find a way around that. 

Hux launched into introductions after taking his seat across the table. She was introduced to the head of HR, the head of the Art Department and the Company’s CEO even stopped in to congratulate her and introduce himself. 

After the CEO left, Mr. Hux slid a large packet of paper across the table to her. “This very important set of papers is your contract with Corellian House Publishing. By signing it, you state that your artwork becomes property of the Publishing House. They retain rights to market and use your designs in perpetuity. Your contract will expire in two years, or five books, whichever comes first. At the end of the contract, we may negotiate for an extension. You will be paid a sum of $100,000.00 per year. If the book sales are especially fruitful, you can expect a bonus from Mister Ren. And yes, the sales are always fruitful. Oh, that reminds me . . .” Hux slid an envelope across the table toward Rey. “This is your signing bonus.” 

“I get a signing bonus?” Rey squeaked out, hoping her voice didn’t sound too eager.

“Yes, it was in the fine print in the contest rules and regulations. Honestly, don’t people read things like that anymore?” Hux muttered.

Rey opened the envelope to see a check made out to her for the amount of ten thousand dollars. Her heart beat erratically in her chest and she felt her cheeks getting warm. _I’m in over my head. What was I thinking by entering this contest?_ Her mind was spinning from all the information. She barely registered that Mr. Hux had started speaking again.

“Mister Ren will require you to terminate your current employment as he wants you to focus only on his projects. He will, of course, allow you to pursue side projects.” 

“Side projects?” Rey asked, raising her eyebrows.

“For example, if you wanted to display some of your art at a gallery, that would be permitted as long as the characters created by Mr. Ren are not used.” 

Rey nodded along. Hux went on in detail for a few more minutes about the terms of her contract. She caught words like _exclusivity_ and _reimbursement_ and honestly had no idea what Mr. Hux was talking about most of the time. She was still trying to figure out if _perpetuity_ meant “forever and ever.” She nodded along politely and signed the contract once he finished. An administrative assistant made copies of the signed contract and gave her one. She would have to have Poe read it later and tell her exactly what she had signed. If she signed away all her rights, hopefully Poe could help her fix it. She hoped she hadn’t just made a huge mistake. 

The woman from HR gave her a handbook of company policies that Rey didn’t bother to look at yet. That would be some light weekend reading. She tucked the handbook and the contract into her handbag. The sun had set long before the meeting began to wrap up. Mr. Hux and Rey were now alone in the conference room.

“Any last questions, Miss Kenobi?” 

“What’s he like?” Rey asked. She hoped she didn’t sound too interested. 

Mr. Hux smiled and shook his head. “He can be a little difficult to deal with. Writers can be very prickly. He likes things done a certain way. Sometimes he can be a bit curt, especially in emails. It wasn’t always smooth sailing between him and Amilyn but they ended up working well together. Don’t let him scare you away.”

“Oh. Well, don’t worry about me. I’m used to lawyers yelling at me all day. I think I can handle whatever Mr. Ren throws my way.” Rey laughed. “But now I have an image in my head that he’s a grouchy sixty year old man who smokes and drinks too much and wears tweed.”

Hux laughed, “No, he’s not that old, although he behaves like it. He’s only in his mid thirties and he prefers leather to tweed.” 

Oh??? Rey felt her mouth form into another question, but decided not to say anything. 

“One last thing, Miss Kenobi.” Mr. Hux handed her a brown file folder. “This is the manuscript for the first book in the series. I hope I don’t need to tell you how important it is to keep this secret. Do not show it to anyone. Do not discuss it on social media. Do not _lose_ it.”

“Of course! You can count on me, sir.” Rey accepted the folder and tucked it under her arm. 

On her ride down the elevator, Rey released a loud breath and allowed a tear to streak down her cheek. She wasn’t even sure if it was a happy tear or sad. Maybe overwhelmed. She was a creature of habit and now her routine was about to be upended. She would be able to quit her horrible data entry job! And now she would finally have money and not have to worry about paying her bills. Change, even good change, was hard to stomach for a person with anxiety. 

She swiped the tear away and fingered the brown folder tucked under her arm. One thing was certain, she couldn’t wait to read the manuscript.

***

“Did I make a terrible mistake?” Rey wailed. She was drowning her anxiety in a very large glass of sauvignon blanc. 

“Well, I can’t blame you for signing it. If someone had handed me this and a check for ten thousand dollars I would have signed it too.” Poe was combing through the contract, explaining each page to Rey as he went.

“What did I sign? Did I sign my whole life away?” 

“Somewhat. But you get a lot of perks for what you signed. This page says that you can’t make any social media posts about the book without their approval first. That’s kinda strange but I can see why they put it in here. Oh hey, they are going to buy you all your art supplies including the latest in digital art programs, scanner, computer. That sounds pretty sweet. They do pretty much own your Ren-created character art forever and ever and ever. Right here it says that if they put your art on merchandise, you get a cut.” 

“Oh. That’s nice, I guess.” 

“Rey. Perk up a little. This is a good thing. This contract is mostly standard stuff. I know it looks scary, but if something comes up, we can fight it. Until then, enjoy the ride and start doing some doodles.” He set the contract on the coffee table and pulled Rey into a hug.

“Thank you Poe.” Rey sniffed and wiped her nose into Poe’s shirt.

“Any time, Sunshine.”

Rey spent the rest of the evening sitting on her bed reading the manuscript between sips of wine. The plot for the first book involved Benji and Chewie on a beach day adventure. The pair dig up a pirate treasure under a pier and then end up being chased by the pirates. Rey pulled out an old sketch pad and began doodling some quick ideas for each scene. When she couldn’t quite get the image of Chewie running with his fur whipping in the wind, she turned to YouTube. Mesmerized, she ended up watching border collie videos for almost an hour. 

Rey glanced over to the clock on her bedside table. Almost one o’clock in the morning! 

She opened her email and fired off a quick message to Kylo,

> From: Kenobi, Rey <Rey_of_sunshine@jakkumail.com>
> 
> To: Ren, Kylo <KRen@coruscant.mail.com>
> 
> Sent: Saturday, October 3, 2020 1:11 AM
> 
> Subject: RE: Congratulations
> 
> Mr. Ren,
> 
> Thank you for this opportunity. It was a pleasure meeting Mr. Hux today and the rest of the Corellian House staff. I was disappointed not to meet you, but I suppose there is plenty of time for that. I read the first manuscript and have begun work on my sketches. I have a small request. I would like to accurately portray Chewie in the book. Would you mind sharing a photo of him so that I can get his coloring and markings correct? 
> 
> Rey Kenobi

  
  


Rey hit send after reading the email a few times. A reply came just a short two minutes later.

> From: Ren, Kylo <KRen@coruscant.mail.com>
> 
> To: Kenobi, Rey <Rey_of_sunshine@jakkumail.com>
> 
> Sent: Saturday, October 3, 2020 1:13 AM
> 
> Subject: RE: RE: Congratulations
> 
> Ms. Kenobi,
> 
> A picture of Chewie is attached.
> 
> Meeting me is not necessary for you to be able to complete your job. I would like you to have sketches for the first four pages by next Friday. I trust this won’t be a problem for you.
> 
> Kylo

So that’s how it’s going to be? Ok. She could certainly do her job. Rey clicked on the attachment and stared into the shining black eyes of Chewie. He had a pretty white stripe that ran between his eyes and down his nose. Rey smiled at the picture. She had been pretty close with her original sketch. He was standing straight with his head tilted slightly at the camera. His mouth was open in such a way that it appeared the dog was smiling. How could such a happy looking dog have such a horrible owner?

Rey leaned into her computer screen and whispered, “Hi Chewie. I’m sorry your daddy is such a jerk.” 

With a sigh, Rey closed her laptop and flopped back into her pillows. This, right here, this is why she never dated. Men were all jerks. She was sure that her mystery man from the bar would have turned out to be a jerk too. Maybe that’s why she had run out in the middle of the night. Or maybe she was just a coward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving! Next chapter will be a smutty flashback.  
> Thank you for comments & kudos.  
> Check out my other works!  
> Completed - Ten Wise Jedi - Agatha Christie Style murder mystery  
> Completed - The Neighborhood - FBI Agents Ben & Rey. X-Files vibes  
> Completed - Flight #923 - A time loop story about a plane crash on a tropical island.  
> WIP - Valley of the Dead - Historical AU with Egyptologist Ben Solo, thief Rey and a mummy!  
> WIP - You Imagine an Ocean - Pirate Ben Solo (on temporary hiatus)  
> WIP - Hello Again, Little Rabbit - dark vampire story


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**_Six months ago_ **

It started with an innocent drinking game of “Never Have I Ever.” Assuming, of course, that you consider such games innocent (which Rey did not). The roommates were crowded around the coffee table passing around a bowl of popcorn and a bottle of tequila on a Friday night. As it turns out, Rey was the most innocent of the pack. She felt her face redden as the questions inevitably became more and more sexual and it became apparent to her roommates that she was not very experienced with anything remotely sexual at all. 

At least nobody was teasing her about her lack of experience, and she was grateful for that. She was already embarrassed to still be a virgin at her age. Most of the people she knew had sex in high school or college. Back then, she was just trying to get through the day and get good grades. Boys never really interested her until she was out on her own. By the time she was wanting a relationship, she was too busy working to pay bills. When did people even have time to date?

As Rey stumbled toward her bed, disoriented by copious amounts of tequila, she noticed that Rose was following her. Rey face planted on her bed and Rose sat at the foot of the bed, tucking her legs underneath her. 

“Please tell me you’re not really a virgin.”

So much for not being judged by her roommates. Rey kept her face buried in the pillows. “Maybe?” She squeaked. The fatal combination of popcorn and tequila was not sitting well in her stomach. She slid off the bed and rested her head on her knees. She really didn’t want to puke up popcorn. 

Rose rubbed her back soothingly. “Girl, you are going to be 25 years old in three months. What are you waiting for anyway? Just go get some before you wither into an old maid.”

“I don’t know. I guess I was waiting for someone special. I always thought the first time was an important moment. But I’ve never met anybody that I wanted to be with.”

“I mean your virginity is important, but it’s not like ‘The Crown Jewels of Naboo’ kind of important. You just need to find a decent experienced guy who can take the lead. Do you want me to fix you up with one of the doctors at work? Most of them are single and gorgeous. Maybe the trauma surgeon. We’ll avoid the neurosurgeons. Most of them think waaaaay too highly of themselves. Maybe the new head of cardiology? He’s…” Rey stopped listening to Rose as she went on about all the hot single men at the hospital.

Rey didn’t know why she felt ashamed. It’s not like it was really that big of a deal. She wasn’t crazy religious or anything. She just wanted a nice guy who liked her. Was that so much to ask? Apparently it was, because she had yet to meet him. And now she was tired of waiting. She was going to be 25 soon. Maybe Rose was right. She was putting her virginity up on a pedestal and making far too big a deal about it. 

She just needed to find a nice guy and jump him. As soon as possible.

  
***

**_Three months ago_ **

There was much celebration in the offices of Pryde Brothers, LLC. One of the partners had just settled a big case for seventy million dollars. It was a Friday afternoon and the office administrator sent out an email inviting everyone for a happy hour at a bar across the street. Rey groaned as she read the email. It would be bad if she didn’t go, but a crowded bar with a bunch of stuffy lawyers was not her thing. At least Poe would be there. Maybe they could convince Finn to swing by after work and join them.

She delayed going until the last possible second. By the time she walked into the bar, the place was packed with her coworkers. It was so crowded that it was impossible to move without bumping into multiple people at once. Great.

Rey elbowed her way to the bar and waited for the bartender to catch her eye. She grabbed the happy hour menu and began flipping through it. There were several “new” cocktails since last time she had been here. She chewed on her bottom lip and considered her options. Maybe she should just get a glass of wine or a draft beer. Getting super drunk at a work happy hour was probably not going to help her career. 

“What can I get for you?” The bartender slid a coaster toward her. 

“Uhh, I guess I’ll just have a glass of sauvignon blanc.”

“You look like you might need something a little stronger than wine.” He observed with a flirtatious wink.

Ugh. Was he hitting on her? She could never tell. “Well, what do you recommend, then?” 

“Are you more of a whisky girl or tequila?” 

“Whiskey.”

“I’ll be right back.” 

Rey watched the bartender dump a suspicious amount of alcohol into a blender with various tropical fruits. He came back with a bright red slushie cocktail with a cherry on top.

“I call it the Jedi Killer. Enjoy.”

Rey collected her drink and took an experimental sip. It tasted like pineapple, cherries and something else she couldn’t quite place. Frankly, it was delicious. Rey nodded an appreciative thanks to the bartender and pushed her way through the crowd in search of Poe.

She found Poe at about the same time as she found the bottom of her glass. Gosh, that drink went quick. As it turns out, Poe’s beer was also empty so they elbowed their way back to the bar for seconds. By the time Rey was on her third “Jedi Killer” she was feeling fairly drunk. She had already chatted with many of the people on her floor. Thankfully her supervisor had already left for the night. 

The bar started thinning out after Finn arrived. The three sat and chatted for a while before Finn and Poe started making out. Rey was about to pack it in for the night. The trip back to their apartment was going to be a while. She decided to hit up the ladies room before leaving.

She slurped down the very last sip of her cocktail and stumbled off her stool, snagging her pantyhose on the edge of the bar. 

“Awww, man!” Rey poked her finger into the newly created hole. Another pair ruined. Why in God’s name were pantyhose so expensive anyway? Rey clutched her purse to her chest and stumbled toward the back of the bar. Ok, she was a little drunk but not doing too bad. This was Ok. She was in control. Total control.

“I wouldn’t say you’re in total control.” A deep voice interrupted her internal monologue. Or wait, had she said that aloud? Rey whipped around to the direction of the speaker.

He was at least a whole head taller than her, with broad shoulders and long limbs. He was wearing a three piece suit but she didn’t think he worked at the law firm. She didn’t recognize him. He probably worked at one of the financial places on this street. He ran a hand through his hair which was, in her opinion, a little too long for a professional man. Long hair was not a deal breaker for her. His dark eyes bored into hers. She felt herself wobbling a little. Stupid alcohol.

Rey allowed her eyes to drift down his ridiculously firm looking chest and arms. He was not wearing a wedding ring. Good start.

Hot. Unmarried. Alone. He was the perfect candidate to take home and fuck. Rose’s voice kept echoing in her head. She was tormented by the idea of withering into an old maid. And her birthday was next week. If she hooked up with this guy tonight then she wouldn’t have to be a 25 year old virgin. This guy was a perfect choice. Now to convince him . . . 

“Well what do you know? I bet you can’t even hit the center of the dart board.”

  
Rey watched as The Hot Guy threw three darts at the board in quick succession. All three hit the center. 

“You were saying?” He turned back to her with a smug look and a casual shrug of his shoulder.

“Can you teach me how to do that?” She took a few steps closer. 

“Sure, but first we need to get you some water.” The Hot Guy handed her some darts. “You stay here and guard my spot. I’ll get us the water.” Rey smiled shyly and nodded. The Hot Guy returned a few minutes later with a pitcher of water and two cups. He poured two and held one out to her.

“Cheers.” He said tapping his cup to hers before taking a large sip. “By the way, my name is--”

“No!” Rey shouted. “No names. I don’t wanna do names.” 

“Okay. That’s a little weird, but Ok.”

Rey chugged her glass of water and The Hot Guy refilled her cup. No names made sense to her. She wasn’t looking for a relationship or anything. She just needed to get laid and get it over with and if it was bad or awkward, then she would never see him again anyway. 

“Now,” she said, looking up his eyes and batting her lashes flirtatiously, “Show me how to play darts.”

This part of her memory gets sort of fuzzy. The Hot Guy spent hours (hours?) teaching her how to play darts. This involved him standing directly behind her and subtly repositioning her body for the best stance. Her back was pressed up against his front. She could feel the heat radiating off of him. She did remember that at some point she purposely thrust her ass into his crotch. Wait, is that his . . . oh my. He was definitely interested in her. He had wrapped an arm around her and muttered something unintelligible into her hair. Rey turned around and pounced, pulling him down to crush their mouths together. His hands were roaming over her. 

A crude whistle from some onlookers at the bar caused them to break apart. Rey looked up at The Hot Guy. Her fists were clutching the front of his suit jacket. 

“Let’s get out of here.” She quietly prayed that he wouldn’t turn her down. The throbbing between her legs was almost painful.

“Sweetheart, I would go pretty much anywhere with you right now.” 

\---

Ben watched the retreating figure of the woman as she ducked into the ladies room. He couldn't believe his luck. This had started as a shitty day and was getting much better. He had suffered through a very tense late lunch with his parents. They were still (still!) trying to convince him to join the family business. Ben had no interest in being a hospital administrator and certainly no interest in being a doctor. Just because his grandfather had been a groundbreaking neurosurgeon did not mean that Ben had to follow in those footsteps. His uncle Luke had already followed the family tradition and was the city’s top neurosurgeon. His mother was head of the hospital’s Board of Directors. Let it end with them. 

Ben had already made a successful career for himself. Unfortunately, his parents had no idea that he was a famous author. He only told them that he worked in publishing. They assumed he was an office worker and he never bothered to correct them. He could only imagine his mother’s face when she found out that he was Kylo Ren. Hopefully it will never happen. His father would probably just laugh. He explained his lavish condo and fancy sports car by telling them he had done well investing his inheritance in the stock market. That was partly true, so it was barely a lie. 

Ben nervously straightened his tie while he waited for The Hot Girl to come back. This was probably a terrible idea, but he honestly needed to get laid and this chick had practically offered herself up on a platter. She was sexy as Hell and very mysterious. It was a little strange that she didn’t want to tell him her name, or know his, but whatever. He’d certainly slept with stranger women.

“This is not how I thought this day was gonna go.” Ben muttered aloud to himself.

“Ben Solo?” a familiar voice startled Ben into turning around. He found himself staring into the eyes of a childhood buddy, Poe Dameron.

“Poe? Wow! Hey man, what are you doing here?”

“I work at the law firm across the street. Most of us are crowding up the place to celebrate a big victory. I can’t believe I’m running into you. Are you working around here? Let me buy you a drink, buddy.”

Ben shot a glance toward the ladies room door. “Uhh, actually I’m about to take off. I met this girl.” Ben gestured toward the bathroom.

“Say no more pal. We gotta catch up soon. Here’s my card. Text me if you want to grab a beer some time.” Poe fished around in his suit jacket and pulled out his business card. 

“Thanks man. Have a good night.” Ben pocketed the card and Poe disappeared back into the crowd. Ben smiled as The Hot Girl came out of the bathroom. 

“Your place or mine?” He asked, helping her slip into her jacket.

“Your place, if you don’t mind. I have several nosey roommates.” She said.

“No problem, Sweetheart. My car’s right outside. I have a nosey dog but he should leave us alone.”

\---

She was sitting in the heated leather seat of a tiny black sports car that cost half a million dollars. Because, of course, The Hot Guy owned a Tie Silencer. No big deal. It was probably the most expensive car she would ever be in. 

She gripped the edges of the seat as he sped through the city, whipping in and out of traffic at high speed. He had one hand on the wheel and the other was rubbing the inside of her thigh, inching up higher and higher. She had ditched her ripped pantyhose in the bar’s bathroom, thank the Gods.

They were entering a part of town she didn’t frequent. The Garden District was where all the wealthy people lived. The Hot Guy entered an underground parking garage and pulled his car into a reserved parking space. As soon as the car was in park, he reached over and unfastened Rey’s belt and pulled her onto his lap so that she was facing him. 

Rey’s heart was racing. He had lifted her as if she weighed nothing at all. He buried his face in her neck and began kissing a trail up toward her ear. His hands reached up under her skirt and pulled her panties to the side. Wait? Were they going to do it  _ here _ ? In his car? This was going a little fast. Maybe she should say something.

“I- I, um … oh fuck!” He was slowly running his finger along her slit. She gasped as he found her clit and began slowly circling it.

“I’ve never -- done this before.” She mumbled.

“I’ve never fucked anyone in my car before either. There’s not much room in here, but I think we can manage.” He laughed and cupped her ass, pulling her even closer. 

“No. I mean I’ve never had sex before.” 

His hands instantly fell away from her. Oh no. She had ruined it. Now he was going to kick her out of his car. She didn’t have enough money to get an Uber home from this part of town. She was going to have a long walk ahead of her. 

“What?” That was all he said. That was all he needed to say. She felt her cheeks redden from embarrassment.

“I mean I’ve done stuff before but never . . .” Her voice got softer and trailed off. This was absolutely mortifying. This guy probably had fucked hundreds of girls in his lifetime. Why would he possibly want someone who didn’t know what they were doing? 

She forced herself to look back into his eyes. What was he thinking? His face was totally unreadable.

“We can’t do this.” He said after a long pause.

“Ok. I’ll just go.” Rey turned and reached for the door handle. His hand stopped her and he tipped her chin so that she was looking at him.

“No. I mean, we can’t do it in the car. Come upstairs with me.”

“You still want me?”

“Yes. Do you still want me?”

“Yes. But why would you want someone who doesn’t know what they are doing? You seem like the kind of guy who can have whatever girl he wants.”

“What makes you say that?”

Rey held up her hands, “Um, maybe it’s this crazy expensive car? The fact that we’re in the Garden District? That fact that you agreed to leave the bar with me so easily?” 

The Hot Guy threw back his head and laughed. “So, let me get this straight. You are under the impression that because I have money, that I am some sort of man whore? How many women do you think I’ve ---never mind. Don’t answer that.” He paused and sighed. “I can’t explain it, but there’s something about you. I need you. I want you. I want to take you upstairs and fuck you properly. Right now. Do you want to go with me?”

Rey nodded.

The Hot Guy opened the car door and scooped Rey into his arms, carrying her toward the elevator. He didn’t put her down, even as they entered the main lobby. The doorman observed them with eyebrows raised. She wondered if this was the first time The Hot Guy had carried a woman to his place. He didn’t set her down until they were standing in front of his condo.

He fumbled around for his keys before ushering her inside. He wasted no time. As soon as the door closed, they were on each other, peeling away layers of clothing. Rey was down to her bra and panties and The Hot guy was in his boxers. They had stumbled their way toward the back of the condo to a bedroom with an incredible city view. The windows went floor to ceiling. She wondered if people could see into the room. The idea of somebody watching them excited her a little. 

Instead of moving her toward the bed, The Hot Guy pushed her toward the windows. He pressed her against the glass and planted  open-mouthed kisses down her neck and along her collarbone. Rey was trembling in anticipation.

Rey shrieked as something cold and wet poked her leg. She looked down at a large border collie smiling up at her, tail wagging excitedly. 

“Oh, sorry. That’s my dog. Go back to bed, buddy. I’ll take you out for a big walk later, OK?” 

The dog wagged its tail and happily trotted out of the room, presumably to the large doggie bed they had passed in the living room.

“Now, where were we?” He lightly ran a finger down the center of her chest, stopping when he reached her bra.

“I believe you were going to ‘fuck me properly.’” Rey said in a soft voice.

“Absolutely.” The Hot Guy said, peeling her underwear down to her ankles.

\---

Ben could tell that The Hot Girl had calmed down considerably since entering his condo. He was certainly surprised at her revelation. It baffled him that someone this gorgeous could still be untouched. Her assumption that he had been with multiple women had not really bothered him. He supposed it came with the territory of being wealthy. He wasn’t exactly a sex god. He had only been with a handful of others. A few disastrous relationships along the way. Nothing worth thinking about, especially now that he was staring into the shining eyes of a goddess.

He sank to his knees in front of her and nudged her legs apart. She let out a little squeak as he ran his tongue up her slit and circled her clit. She planted her hands against the glass and tried to prevent herself from falling. As he licked and sucked, he sensed she was about to fall. He grabbed one leg and flung it over his shoulder. 

She sagged down and leaned on him as he continued his ministrations. He was surprised to see her running her hands along her breasts. When had she discarded the bra? He slid a finger inside her and elicited a gasp from her. She grabbed at his hair, tugging gently. He took that as a sign of encouragement and pumped his finger slowly before adding a second. He could feel her muscles contracting around his fingers and knew she was about to come. 

The combination of his fingers and tongue brought her to the edge. When she came, her knee buckled and he scooped her up and carried her to his bed. He climbed on top of her and looked into her eyes. Her pupils were wide and shining, dazed from her orgasm.

“I need you. Please.” She arched up her pelvis. An invitation. The sound of her whines were killing him. He was trying to take things slow so as not to hurt her. He could see her trembling slightly and knew the anticipation was causing her to be afraid.

Ben felt her entire body tense as he lined himself up with her entrance. “I won’t hurt you.” He whispered into her hair before planting a kiss at her temple. He slid through her silken folds and guided the tip into her entrance, groaning at the tightness. Oh Gods. This was too amazing. He wasn’t going to last long.

He heard her inhale and hold her breath as he slowly slid into her inch by inch until he was buried inside her to the hilt. Her eyes were closed and from the wrinkle on her brow, he could tell she was in pain. He ran his fingers along her cheek, “Do you want me to stop?” 

“No! Please don’t stop. I’m Ok. I’m really Ok.” She whispered. “Please.” 

He pulled himself out then sheathed himself again to the hilt with a sharp thrust, causing her to cry out again. As he began to move his hips, he reached down to lightly thumb at her clit. He rocked into her gently, at first, until he felt her grip loosen and saw the muscles of her face relax. When he felt she was adjusting, he enveloped the rosy bud of her nipple into his mouth. She buried her fingers in his hair and held tightly as he began to thrust faster and harder. 

“I’m so close. Please. I’m going to come again!” she cried out, dragging her fingernails across his back. He was sure there would be deep scratches tomorrow. He would wear them proudly, a sexual badge of honor.

“Come for me, Sweetheart.” He felt himself losing control as his thrusting became more erratic. He could feel her muscles contracting, clenching down on him. She whimpered and babbled incoherently as she rode the wave of her orgasm. With a shudder and a groan, Ben followed her over the edge of the cliff.

They lay tangled together for some time, breathing heavily, not speaking. He twined his fingers around in her hair as he felt himself drifting off to sleep. He kept one arm firmly around her. 

One thing was certain, he was not letting this girl get away without finding out her name and setting a date to see her again and again and again.

-

One thing was certain, The Hot Guy was a sound sleeper. He was snoring loudly with an arm and leg draped on top of Rey. She slithered out of the bed, careful not to disturb him. He kept snoring and didn’t seem to register that she was no longer in the bed. She was alarmingly sober now. She frantically began sneaking around his room gathering up her clothing and hastily putting it back on. Where were her shoes?? By the front door!

She was in full panic mode. She had just had unprotected sex for the very first time with a stranger. What the fuck was wrong with her? She was an absolute idiot. They hadn’t discussed condoms or birth control. Luckily she was on the pill, but he didn’t even ask! And she didn’t ask him to use a condom. He could have a million diseases. He could be a serial killer or a criminal or just a regular weirdo. She had not thought this through very well. Fleeing was the only option now. Best to avoid whatever ridiculous getting-to-know-you type conversation followed sex with a stranger. 

As she grabbed her high heels, she tried to ignore the stare from the dog laying on the floor in the hallway. When Rey made eye contact, his tail began to swish back and forth. Worried that the dog would bark and give her away, Rey tiptoed over to him and rubbed behind his ears.

“Shhh!” Rey whispered to the border collie, before patting him on the head and sneaking out the front door into the night. 

On her way out of the lobby, the doorman held open the door with eyebrows raised. Rey looked away and straightened her jacket, stepping out in the cool evening air. He probably thought she was a hooker or something. Oh well. She was never ever ever ever coming back here so it did not matter. Never. Ever.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had a terrible week at work but managed to squeeze this chapter in. It helped lift me up a little. Hope you enjoy it. As always, thanks for comments & kudos.

Chapter 4

On Monday morning Rey handed in her two weeks notice at the law firm, first thing in the morning. At exactly four o’clock, HR had appeared at her cubicle and told her to pack up her things and leave immediately. Rey grabbed her purse and her little potted cactus, handed in her badge and key and was escorted down into the lobby. She didn’t even have time to tell Poe what was happening. She, of course, tried not to smile as she was being escorted out. She didn’t want to seem too eager to be asked to leave. At least she wouldn’t have to work the next two weeks at a job she hated. She would be able to focus on her sketches.

She felt her spirits lifting as she stood outside on the busy street in the Financial District. Her gaze drifted down the street in the direction of the bar. Was it too early for a drink? Would _ he _ be there?

She fired off a quick text to Poe to meet her at the bar across the street when he got off. The bar was fairly empty for the start of Happy Hour. Then again, it was only Monday. Rey easily found a seat at the bar and put her purse on the stool next to her to hold it for Poe. She put her little potted cactus on the bartop and ordered a glass of wine. While she waited for Poe, she slowly sipped and scanned the businessmen in the bar. Her eyes drifted to the dart board in the back. Nobody there. 

It was probably stupid to think he would be there, several months later. That didn’t stop her from feeling disappointed. After a quick drink with Poe, the pair shared an Uber home. 

She got all the way home when she remembered that she left her cactus at the bar.

\--

> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Testing 1,2,3. I just found out about the publishing company’s messaging app. Do you mind if we communicate this way or do you prefer me to email you?
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> This is fine.
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Ok. I emailed you the draft for the first few pages. The company sent me a fancy new scanner today and some art supplies. 
> 
> Thank you, by the way.
> 
> I know it’s earlier than you wanted, but if you hate them I will have time to fix it.
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> I’ll look at them now. 
> 
> And you don’t need to thank me for the supplies. It was part of your contract.
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Ok cool.
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> I like the way you draw Benji’s ears. I must confess that I had huge ears as a kid. Luckily I grew into them. 
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> I have the craziest picture of you in my head. I don’t care what you say. One day we are going to meet and I’m going to see how right I am.
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> Oh? What do you picture me as?
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> My original picture was an old man wearing tweed. Mr. Hux told me you like leather. So now I’m picturing you as a biker in a leather jacket with very large ears.
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> Ugh. Damn Hux. 
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> He was nice. Is he single?
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> You want to date him???
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Not for me. I have a friend who is a nurse. She has a thing for gingers.
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> I don’t know, actually. I’ll ask him.
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Please do. Wouldn’t it be cute if we hooked them up?
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> We have different definitions of the word “cute.”
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> It’s hard to meet good people. I would know. I’m painfully single. What about you? Married? Single? Involved in a love triangle? 
> 
> Ok. You are taking a really long time to respond. I’m sorry if I’m being nosy. It’s none of my business. Forget I asked.
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> Single. I scare women away. 
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> I’m sure you don’t scare them away.
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> Trust me, I do. The last woman I was with literally ran away from me.
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Maybe she was running away from your abnormally large ears? I kid. I’m sorry that happened to you. Maybe she just got scared or something? I’m always running away from things. 
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> Can we talk about something else?
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Yup. I sent two different versions of page 3. Which one do you like better?

\--

Her beloved cactus was gone. She had sent Poe back to the bar to retrieve her cactus after work on Tuesday. By the time he had gotten there, the bartender told Poe that he had been about to throw it away but some guy had wanted it and taken it home just an hour earlier. She probably would have killed it by overwatering anyway. She figured karma was starting to catch up with her for causing pain to someone else.

It plagued her for the rest of the week. She had run away in the middle of the night like a coward. She owed The Hot Guy an apology and, if he would listen, an explanation. Poor Kylo seemed really hurt by his last girlfriend running away. The idea that she caused someone that much distress weighed heavily on her. She knew where he lived. She might as well be an adult and try to apologize. 

On Friday morning, she took an Uber to the Garden District. She figured that if she chickened out, she could at least hit up the cute boutiques in the area. Her pulse quickened as the car stopped in front of the condo building. Was she really doing this?

Rey to a deep calming breath. She walked up to the doors and gasped as the door swung open for her. Standing inside was the same doorman from that night. Great. The guy who thinks I’m a hooker.

“Um, hi. You might not remember me. I was here a few months ago with my … friend. Can I go up?”

“I remember you, Miss. Twentieth floor.” The doorman held the door open and nodded toward the elevators. Rey smiled and pressed the button between the two elevators. What exactly was she going to say when she got up there? She hadn’t thought that far ahead. Maybe just blurt out an apology when he opened the door? Would he yell at her? Kiss her? Be mad? Happy?

One of the elevators opened and Rey stepped inside. She stared at her reflection in the shiny doors as it rocketed up to the twentieth floor. If her memory was correct, he was at the end of the hall. Rey smoothed her fingers through her hair and stepped out into the hallway. She was wearing jeans and a pink sweater with a red scarf. She looked fairly cute. At least she thought she did. She turned and made her way down to the end of the hallway.

Ok. This is it. She stepped slowly toward the door. Her hand was raised to knock when she heard sounds from inside. She could hear the clicking of a dog’s toenails on the floor and the sound of a man talking. The dog started barking right by the door. Oh my God, they are getting ready to open the door! Panicking, Rey darted around the corner of the hallway to hide. She peeked around to watch The Hot Guy and his dog.

The door opened and the man stepped out. He was wearing jeans, black leather cowboy boots and a red flannel shirt. The sleeves were pushed up to the elbows, revealing muscular forearms. Dear God, look at those muscles! He was talking to someone on his phone. The border collie was on a leash, veering down the hall in her direction barking animatedly. Oh crap. She was going to be discovered and seem like a total stalkerish weirdo. She should have just knocked on the door like an adult. Stupid stupid stupid.

“Woah, boy. We don’t have time for the stairs today. We gotta take the elevator. This way, let’s go.” 

The sound of his deep voice had her clenching her thighs together. Rey flattened herself against the wall. Please don’t come this way. Please don’t come this way.

“No I’m still here, Mom. Sorry the dog is being nuts today. Well, I don’t know what else to tell you. We can’t all be world famous surgeons like Uncle Luke. Yes, Mom. I love you too. Bye.” 

His uncle is a famous surgeon? She foresaw some Googling in her future. 

The elevator dinged and she heard the sound of pawsteps and footsteps as the man and his dog entered. Rey sank to the floor and banged her head against the wall. Why was she such a coward? She better get out of here before they came back and found her. She waited about two minutes, thinking he would be out of the lobby by now. She should be safe to ride the elevator down.

With a sigh, Rey stepped into one of the elevators when it opened.

\---

Daniel Yoda had seen a lot in his time as doorman at this exclusive condo building in the Garden District. There were cheating spouses, clandestine meetings with drug dealers, all manner of bizarre late night comings and goings. Sometimes there was drama in the middle of the day. Many of the residents were famous and relied on his discretion. Daniel had learned long ago that keeping things to himself was a prized quality. He usually didn’t make comments to the residents, but for some reason he felt the need to inquire on this particular occasion.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Solo.” Daniel greeted Ben as he headed toward the lobby exit with Chewie. “Where’s your pretty friend?”

Ben stopped in his tracks and gave Daniel an odd look. “Pretty friend?”

“Yes sir, the woman from a few months ago. I just let her up the elevator.” Daniel started to worry when he saw the look on Mr. Solo’s face. Had he made a mistake?

“She got on the elevator?” Ben asked loudly. He was practically shouting.

“Yes, sir. Is everything alright? Should I not have let her up?” 

“You’re sure it was her? The same woman?” Ben took several steps toward Daniel, who instinctively stepped back.

“Yes. She just went up about five minutes ago. I don’t know how you could have missed her.”

Ben raced to the elevators and pressed the button repeatedly. He and Chewie hopped on, practically running over an older couple trying to exit.

As soon as the set of doors closed on Ben and Chewie, the next elevator over opened and the mystery woman stepped out. Mr. Yoda shook his head. This was like something out of a bad TV drama. Should he intervene? She already looked a little flustered. Maybe he should mind his own business. But Mr. Solo had seemed so excited to see her. He decided to take a risk.

“Excuse me, Miss? Mr. Solo just rode the elevator up again looking for you. If you wait here a few minutes, I’m sure he’ll be back down soon.”

The woman’s eyes widened and she glanced back to the elevators. 

“No! I was never here.” She ran out of the lobby and down the street. Daniel stood confused watching the figure of the woman disappear into the crowd. What just happened?

Another minute later, Ben and Chewie emerged again from the elevator. Ben looked somewhat frazzled. 

“She just ran up the street. That way.” Daniel pointed. Ben groaned when he saw how much pedestrian traffic was out and about today. 

“Come on, Chewie. Let’s see if we can find her.”

Daniel shook his head as the man and his dog headed up the street. 

When Ben and Chewie returned an hour later, Daniel pretended not to notice the dejected look on Ben’s face.

Ah, to be young and in love again.

\---

Solo. That’s what the doorman had said. Mr. Solo. His last name is Solo. 

Later that evening, with a large glass of wine in front of her, Rey sat in front of her laptop and googled, “Luke” “Solo” “surgeon and “Coruscant.”

The very first result brought up the Skywalker Memorial Hospital’s bio page for Luke Skywalker, the chief of neurosurgery. Rey clicked through several articles about Dr. Skywalker and his twin sister Leia Organa-Solo who ran the hospital. So if The Hot Guy was a “Solo” then perhaps he was the son of this Leia Organa-Solo? If he was a part of the Skywalker family, that would certainly explain the expensive car and the condo in the Garden District. 

Rey Googled “Leia Organa-Solo’s son” and various combinations . She didn’t turn up any names or information. If Leia had a child, he wasn’t on social media or discussed in any news articles. He obviously wasn’t a doctor. She googled “Solo” and “Lawyer” and got nothing. “Solo” and “Finance” also brought up nothing. Maybe he was just a rich kid with no job? But why had he been at the bar in the Financial District? He had to work somewhere. Why did he have no social media presence?

Very curious. So far this was her only lead - The Hot Guy was a part of the Skywalker family.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It had been a very strange week. Ben was sitting on his couch on Friday night, with his feet propped up on his coffee table, sipping a glass of whiskey. There was a new Netflix show playing in the background but Ben was having trouble paying attention. Chewie was laying on the couch next to him with his head in Ben’s lap. Ben was scratching Chewie’s ears while musing about his week.

First his new illustrator had been overly friendly. Had she been flirting with him? No, surely not. She was probably just making friendly conversation. Her prying into his love life had brought up his feelings about the Hot Girl that ran away. Then he had gone back to the bar on Tuesday, hoping to run into her again. Stupid, he knew deep down, to think that she would be there on a random Tuesday. All he had come away with was a potted cactus that the bartender was about to throw away.

Who throws a living thing away like garbage?

The cactus now had a home on his windowsill. It was in good company with several other cacti that Ben had been nurturing over the past few years. People he was no good with. But plants, yes, he could cultivate plants.

Then the cherry on top of his week was the incident from earlier today. She had been here. She had come here and run away again. He and Chewie had elbowed their way through the crowded afternoon streets and been unable to find her. Why had she come back? Why had she run away again? So many questions. He groaned aloud in frustration, causing Chewie to let out a small whine. 

“Sorry, boy. Who's a good doggy?” Chewie swished his tail happily.

Ben resumed his musings. He was no closer to finding her than he had been the past few months. He had no name, no clues. It would take a miracle to find her again.

A buzz from his phone pulled him out of his musings.

A text from Hux demanding that he meet him tomorrow for coffee at some fancy new place in Coruscant’s East Side called  _ Bliss Brew _ . Ben’s initial reaction was to refuse. First - what kind of name was that for a coffee place? Second - the East Side was kind of a hike just for a cup of coffee. He could get that without leaving his condo. Third - he wasn’t really in the mood to hang out with Hux. 

He was in the middle of composing a decline when he changed his mind. Maybe he should get out of his little bubble. Chewie would probably enjoy a new adventure. Plus there was a nice park on the East Side that they could stop at on the way home. 

A quick coffee trip was safe. Nothing strange would happen. It would be good for him. Right? Good. Ok. He typed out his agreement to Hux and went back to half-watching TV.

\---

Saturday morning. Rey had not told her friends about her little incident from yesterday. She was thoroughly embarrassed by her juvenile behavior. If she ever ran into the mystery guy again, she had a lot of explaining to do. But she wouldn’t have to worry about that, because she would never see the guy again anyway. Coruscant is a big big big city. He lives in an area she never goes to. She was totally safe from future embarrassment.

Rey was walking arm in arm with Rose, on their way to  _ Bliss Brew _ to meet with Finn and Poe. The place had just opened up and the guys were eager to try it out. The owner knew Poe from a long time ago and had reserved them a table.

“Aww look at that cute puppy!” Rose squealed. Rey turned to look at the border collie whose leash was tied to a parking meter just outside the coffee house. He was sitting patiently waiting for his owner to return. The dog looked at the girls and let out an excited yip.

“That’s funny. That dog looks just like the …” Rey’s voice trailed off. Oh my God. Oh my God! Is that the same dog? Is  _ he _ in the coffee shop right now? 

“Looks like what?” Rose asked. She was now scratching the dogs ears.

Rey was surveying the interior of the coffee shop through the large windows. She didn’t see him in there, but she could see Finn and Poe had already settled in at a table. Maybe it wasn’t the same dog. The Hot Guy lived in the Garden District. There’s no way he would be all the way over here on a Saturday morning just for coffee.

“Nevermind. I see the guys, let’s head in.” Rey was about to reach for the door when it swung open. Armitage Hux stepped out.

“Mr. Hux! What a surprise. I didn’t know you lived around here.” Rey smiled up at him.

“Ah, Ms. Kenobi. Nice to see you. I don’t live around here but I read about this place and thought I’d try it out before it became too popular. I recommend the Naboo Blend. It was amazing.” 

The feminine sound of a throat clearing interrupted the pair.

“Who is your friend, Rey?” Rose asked sweetly. She was batting her eyelashes at Hux. 

“Oh sorry, Rose. This is Armitage Hux. He’s Kylo Ren’s agent.” Rose practically pushed Rey out of the way and stepped closer to Hux. She held out her hand. 

“Hi, I’m Rose Tico. Rey’s single best friend.”

Rey tried to conceal her smile. She had known Rose would go for Hux. She couldn’t wait to brag to Kylo about their impromptu meeting. Rey occupied herself by petting the border collie and pretended to blend into the background while Rose and Hux flirted for a few minutes. 

She supposed that Hux was pretty decent looking. There was a cute little blush to his cheeks right now. He certainly seemed interested in Rose. Holy crap, did he just laugh at something she said? He didn’t seem like the laughing type. Rey felt a pang of jealousy watching how easily Hux and Rose hit it off on a first meeting. Why did it seem so easy for some people and so hard for her?

“Listen, Armie, I have to meet some friends this morning. But, I would love to go out with you some time. What’s your number?” Rose pulled out her phone and added Hux as a contact. “I'll text you right now so you have my number.” 

Rey rolled her eyes when Hux kissed the back of Rose's hand and promised to call her later. When Hux disappeared, Rey crossed her arms and stared at Rose, eyebrows raised. 

“What?” Rose asked with a shrug.

“Nothing. I dunno. You work fast.” Rey couldn’t imagine a scenario where she gave a guy her phone number after a two minute conversation. Although . . . she had spent the night with a stranger ... so who was she to judge?    
  


“Life's too short to mess around. You have to take what you want, Rey. Seize the day and all that crap. Finn’s waving at us, let’s go inside.”

The warm smell of freshly roasted coffee beans assaulted Rey as she entered. The place was really crowded and the line was almost back to the door. 

“You join the guys, I’ll get us coffee. Find out who Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome over there is and if he’s single.” Rose stood in line while Rey made her way toward the table. 

What is Rose talking about? Rey could see that Poe and Finn were seated and a man with longish dark hair was standing at their table. Rey didn’t recognize him until she was within feet of the table. He turned as Poe waved at her. They locked eyes and were both frozen in place.

“Hey, Rey!” Poe called, “This is my old friend, Ben Solo. Ben, this is my roommate, Rey Kenobi.” 

The man’s face whipped back to Poe and then he turned to look at her again. Was he mad at her? She couldn’t tell. After his initial surprise, his face went totally blank. She just wanted to melt into a little puddle on the floor and disappear. Of all the places she could run into Ben Solo, did it have to be with all of her friends as witnesses? The universe was punishing her, clearly.

“It’s you.” He whispered it, but everyone at the table could hear. He didn’t sound angry.

“Have you two met?” Finn asked. There was a wrinkle in his brow. He was clearly picking up on the tension in the air.

“Umm. Well, yes. We met a few months ago in a bar…” Rey drifted off.

“Wait a minute, this is the guy you slept with?” Poe’s voice was far too loud. People at nearby tables were turning to look. 

Now would be a good time to melt into the floor and disappear.

“Can I talk to you? In private?” The deepness of Ben’s voice made her shiver. 

Oh my God. OH MY GOD.

“Uhh, sure, let’s just pop outside. It’s really crowded in here. Guy’s I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Poe and Finn were staring at them with open mouths. 

Rey led the way out of  _ Bliss Brew _ and Ben followed. He stopped to untie the border collie and took the leash in his hand. 

The dog immediately pounced on Rey and started licking her hands.

“Woah boy. Down.” The dog obeyed and sat next to his owner.

“I’m sorry.” Rey blurted out. “I’m an idiot and I shouldn’t have run away. Twice.”

A slow smile spread across Ben’s face. There was a little twinkle in his eye too. Definitely not mad at her. Excellent.

“It doesn’t matter. I can’t believe I found you again.” There was a softness to his voice that was unexpected based on the size of him. 

“I’m so embarrassed. I really did have a good time and I just got scared. I’m not good at this. Obviously.”

“Well if it makes you feel any better, I’m not good at this either. How about we start over? I’m Ben Solo.” He extended his hand and Rey looked at him with a smile.

“I’m Rey Kenobi. Nice to meet you.” His grip was firm and warm. His hand was almost twice the size of hers. A little tingle of electricity ran up her arm. Or did she imagine that?

“See? That wasn’t so bad. I think we’re not as bad at this as you want to believe.” Ben teased her.

“Maybe not. I still feel bad though. Please tell your doorman that I’m sorry for acting crazy and running away. I think that he thinks I’m a hooker or something.” Rey laughed nervously.

“Don’t worry about him. Mr. Yoda told me that he sees a lot of unusual things in his line of work.” 

“Yoda? That’s funny. There’s a children’s book character named Yoda in Kylo Ren’s old series. Have you ever read them?”

“Uhh, yeah I’ve heard of them. The character is actually based on Mr. Yoda’s grandson, I think. You’ll have to ask him. He likes talking about it.” 

“No way! That’s so cool. I actually work with the author. I’m his new illustrator. It’s all very top secret, of course, so I can’t really talk about it much.” 

“Well I promise not to bother you about it. You seem like the kind of person who can’t keep secrets.” Ben winked and Rey threw back her head and laughed.

“Guilty! I’m a terrible secret keeper. Never tell me anything that you don’t want the whole world to know. The only reason I haven’t blabbed about the new books is because I think I would end up in jail. You should see the crazy legalese in the contract I had to sign.”

“I bet. Well, congratulations on your new job.”

“Thank you. I’m very excited about it.” 

“We should celebrate. Let me take you to dinner tonight?”

“Okay.” Rey was grinning from ear to ear. She didn’t think she could stop smiling if she tried. “I eat pretty much anything, so I’m easy to please.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven? Text me your address.” They exchanged numbers and Rey texted Ben her address right away.

“Alright. See you tonight, then.” Rey bent down to scratch the dog’s ears. “It was very nice to see you again, too.” The dog bounced up and licked Rey’s face.

“Stop flirting with her buddy, she’s mine.” Ben said quietly to his dog.

“Am I?” Were they flirting?

“Oh yes. I’m not letting you run away anymore, Rey Kenobi. See you tonight.”

Ok, they were definitely flirting. She didn’t think that was one of her skills. 

“See you tonight, Ben Solo.” She turned and went back into  _ Bliss Brew _ without looking back. She hoped he enjoyed the view.

\---

Ben walked toward the park with Chewie in a daze. He barely noticed people walking by and if it hadn’t been for a bark from Chewie, he might have walked into traffic without noticing.

The Hot Girl was Rey Kenobi. His new illustrator. 

His new illustrator was The Hot Girl.

How? What? What the fuck was he supposed to do now? 

He probably should have told her who he was but then she probably would have quit. And, God damn it, he really loved her sketches. He wasn’t willing to part with her as an illustrator or as a potential lover. 

He needed a strategy for dinner tonight and at this very moment he had no idea what his strategy should be. He was almost certainly going to mess this whole thing up and end up alone.

This has disaster written all over it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for comments and kudos. Check out my other works!  
> Completed - Ten Wise Jedi - Agatha Christie Style murder mystery  
> Completed - The Neighborhood - FBI Agents Ben & Rey. X-Files vibes  
> Completed - Flight #923 - A time loop story about a plane crash on a tropical island.   
> WIP - Valley of the Dead - Historical AU with Egyptologist Ben Solo, thief Rey and a mummy!  
> WIP - You Imagine an Ocean - Pirate Ben Solo (on temporary hiatus)  
> WIP - Hello Again, Little Rabbit - dark vampire story


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's been a while. A lot has been going on lately, none of it good. :( I've had this chapter ready for a while but I kept re-writing it. It's still not quite the way I want it but I decide to just drop it and move the story along.  
> I have removed the chapter count because there is no way I will be done in 10 chapters. Enjoy!

Explaining things to her friends in the coffee shop after Ben had left had been more than a little bit awkward. After the initial embarrassment subsided, Rey realized that everyone seemed legitimately excited for her date tonight. Poe told her that Ben was a decent guy and that he approved of her seeing him. She would have gone on the date with or without his approval, but it was nice to know she had it.

Rose declared a fashion emergency and had taken her shopping for a sexy “little black dress” to wear. They had ended up in a tiny boutique with rack after rack of glitzy dresses. A quick look at the price tags almost stopped Rey’s heart in her chest. She was still living off the money from her first advance. She should really be saving the money for a new place of her own. But....perhaps a little splurge on a fancy dress wouldn’t kill her?

They spent almost three hours in the boutique. Rey must have tried on everything in her size. Despite Rose’s insistence that she buy a four thousand dollar designer dress in a shimmery red skin tight material, Rey refused. She was losing hope of finding the perfect dress before the sales girl brought her a black sequin wrap dress out of the back room. 

“I had been holding this one because there’s a little snag in the sequins on the back. Most of my customers won’t buy anything with a flaw, but I think you might look really good in this.” She held the dress up for Rey’s inspection. It had long balloon sleeves and a super short skirt. As soon as she put it on, she knew it was the one. 

Rose’s eyes widened into saucers when Rey stepped out of the dressing room.

“Oh. My. God. Rey, you have to get this one. It’s perfect. You look fucking gorgeous!”

The fact that it was only $200 sealed the deal for Rey. It was on clearance because a small row of sequins on the back was pulling loose. Nothing a needle and thread couldn’t fix. Purchase in hand, Rose practically dragged her back to their apartment for hair and makeup. 

After a quick shower, she pulled out her laptop and fired off a message to Kylo before letting Rose start on her hair. 

Rose was currently distracted by talking to Hux. Rey tried not to eavesdrop through the door. He had only waited a few hours to call her. That seemed like a good sign. In her experience, most men seemed afraid of actual phone calls. He must have it bad for Rose. 

> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> The cutest thing happened this morning.
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> Oh?
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> I was with my friend Rose (the one who likes gingers). We ran into Armitage Hux and the two hit it off. They were super cute together.
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> I will repeat my earlier sentiment. We have different definitions of the word cute.
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> I feel like Cupid! Anyway, I have a date tonight. I have to go get ready.
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> Well have fun on your date. I actually am going out tonight too. Where are you going?
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Not sure. He hasn’t said. Hopefully somewhere romantic and quiet so we can talk. It’s our first date. 
> 
> I can’t believe you are going out. I thought you were determined to live the life of a lonely tweed-wearing hermit.
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> I hope you have a nice time.
> 
> And yes, I’m leaving my hermitage to take an incredible woman out. Maybe Cupid got me too. 
> 
> Do you think you can have sketches for the next four pages by next Friday?
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Yes, that’s not a problem. 
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> You’re doing a really good job. I’m impressed by your work so far.
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Thank you :) I hope you have fun on your date too.

Rose really outdid herself. At six forty-five, Rey was standing in front of the mirror examining her reflection. She actually . . . looked good! The short skirt and stiletto heels accentuated her long, lean legs. The V neck of the dress made up for her lack of cleavage. Rose had styled her hair into a bun that looked like a flower blossom. It was pretty and romantic. She was wearing red lipstick, which she usually avoided, but for some reason tonight it seemed like the perfect choice. Rose had done a perfect subtle eyeshadow to accompany the look. 

She hoped that Ben would be pleased. 

He arrived at the apartment door at precisely seven o’clock with a large bouquet of red roses in his arms. He was wearing all black - shirt, suit and tie. The monochromatic look was definitely working for him. His hair was slicked back, but still looked soft enough to run fingers through. Ben's eyes traveled down Rey’s body.

“You look. . . wow.” 

Rey smiled shyly as she took the flowers from Ben.

Rose materialized from the kitchen and grabbed the flowers, “I’ll put these in some water. You two kids have fun. Don’t do anything I would do!” She ushered Rey out the door.

Ben walked around to the passenger side of his car and opened the door, helping Rey inside.

“So, where are you taking me?” She asked after he climbed into the driver’s side.

“It’s a surprise.” He said. He merged seamlessly into traffic and began zipping through the city. 

Rey relaxed into the leather seat and tried not to think about her last ride in this car. That night. She kept sneaking glances at him as he drove. It was a quick trip and they didn’t really talk much. Maybe they were both nervous. Maybe they were both thinking about that night.

Ben pulled his car up to the main entrance of the Bespin Building. Rey’s eyes widened when she realized where they were going to be eating tonight.

“The Resistance? How did you get reservations? This place is booked for months!”

“I know the owner.” He said it casually. Like it was no big deal to know someone who owns the hottest new place in town. 

Rey had been drooling over the idea of eating at The Resistance since she had read about it online. It was a five-star restaurant at the top floor of the Bespin Building. It was noted to be quiet, private, delectable, delicious and, of course, expensive. The head chef used to have his own TV show on the Food Network and fans flocked to The Resistance to try his creations. He was a food artist who made exquisite small plates. Finn and Rose were going to be so jealous when they found out she had eaten here!

A valet opened the door for Rey and Ben handed off his keys, offering his arm to Rey. He led her into the front doors where they boarded a glass elevator in the lobby and rode to the top floor. As they stepped out, they were greeted by the owner himself, Lando Calrissian. 

Lando was wearing a dark blue suit with a shimmery gold shirt underneath. He had no tie, and in fact, the top few buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned. He approached the couple with arms outstretched and a wide smile on his face. 

“Ben, my boy! It’s been too long. How’s your old man doing?” The pair shook hands before Lando pulled Ben into a firm hug.

“Dad’s doing great. Same old stuff. You know how he is. Mom somehow manages to keep him in line.”

  
  
Lando laughed and turned his attention to Rey.

“Hello. And what have we here?” He planted a kiss on the back of Rey’s hand. Rey noticed his gaze go right to her cleavage. His eyes slowly drifted up to hers and he flashed her a smile of perfectly straight and shiny white teeth. “I am Lando Calrissian, the owner of The Resistance. Welcome to my little paradise here among the clouds.” 

“I’m Rey.” She said smiling up at the older man. She didn’t quite know what to make of him. He was excessively flirty. What kind of man flirts with another man’s girlfriend when he is standing right there? Wait, did she just classify herself as Ben’s girlfriend? No. She was not his girlfriend. Not at all. Nope. No need to think about that.

Rey forced a smile to remain on her face. At least Ben seemed comfortable around him, so she resolved to give Lando the benefit of the doubt. 

Ben retrieved Rey’s hand. “Ok, Uncle Lando. I think we are ready to try some of the legendary food.”

Lando led them to a dark booth in the back of the dimly lit restaurant. Each booth had a little fire pit in the middle of the table. There were limited overhead lights, twinkling in the ceiling like starlight. The main source of light was the soft glow from the fire feature in each booth. The booths were curved in such a way that people were encouraged to scoot closer to each other. Once they were seated, Rey was pleased to notice that they couldn’t see any of the other patrons.

A jazz band was playing on a stage at the other end of the restaurant. Rey liked the vibe in here. She could see why it was so popular.

They were never given menus. Plates of food and cocktails appeared in front of them within minutes of being seated. They hadn’t ordered anything yet. Unless Ben had pre-ordered for them? Was that something rich people did? Should she be offended or grateful? Rey tried to keep the confused look off of her face but apparently wasn’t successful. The server came to her rescue.

“Mr. Calrissian has asked the chef to prepare special meals for you this evening. We are going to start you off with our Cloud City Martinis, our most popular cocktail. Your appetizer is crab dip made according to the Chef’s secret family recipe.” 

“Oh yum!” Rey broke off a piece of fresh bread and dunked it into the crab dip, scooping a large heap into her mouth. Heaven. It was absolute heaven. 

She must have moaned rather loudly because Ben was staring at her with his mouth open a little. 

“What?” Had she spilled some? She glanced down at her dress to make sure she wasn’t covered by a stray blob of crab dip.

“Nothing.” He shook his head and reached for a piece of the bread.   
  


“Whaaaat?” She asked again, shoveling another full blob of crab dip into her mouth.

“I’ve just never seen anyone eat that fast before.” His eyes were twinkling in amusement. At least she hoped it was amusement.

“What can I say? I like to eat.” She shrugged and they both laughed.

“Well, how about a toast to our first official date?” Ben asked, raising his martini glass. 

“I will drink to that. Cheers!” She tapped her glass to his and took an experimental sip of the Cloud City Martini. The cocktail was a pretty swirl of blue liquors and vodka that looked like a swirly sky. She wondered how they got it to look like that. 

Over the next two hours, plate after delicious plate arrived and were summarily devoured. Ben and Rey scooted closer together to share bites of food. Conversation between the two came naturally. They tackled all the basic first date questions. They covered everything from favorite movies to college majors to embarrassing childhood memories. They spent a lot of time talking about her love of art and his love of fast cars. They avoided discussions of work, which was fine by her. She didn’t want to risk violating her contract by talking too much.

By the time dessert had arrived (cappuccino and tiramisu) they had moved on to more serious topics like politics and current events. She was extremely liberal. He was more of a moderate. They had a spirited debate about the state of healthcare in Coruscant while Rey reduced her tiramisu to crumbs. 

Their lively conversation was interrupted several times by Ben’s ringtone - a soft piano rendition of Für Elise. Ben ignored the phone each time it rang. After the fourth interruption, Ben sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket, glancing briefly at the screen before swiping to silence the ringtone. He set the phone on the table and returned his attention back to Rey and his cappuccino. 

“Do you need to answer that? I don’t mind.” Rey offered.

“No. It’s just my Mom. I made the mistake of telling her I was going on a date tonight. She probably wants to pry into every detail. She’s already called four times and texted “Call me immediately” five times.”

“Maybe it’s something urgent? Are you going to eat the rest of that?” Rey reached over and scooped a large piece of Ben’s tiramisu without waiting for his response, having eaten her entire plate already.

“She considers everything to be urgent. It comes with the territory of running a hospital. And no, I’m not much of a sweets eating kind of guy.” 

“Mmhmm. I think this is, without a doubt, the best tiramisu that I have ever eaten.” Rey licked the back of her spoon suggestively. 

“I can tell.” He reached over and wiped a blob of tiramisu off of her lower lip. Before he could wipe his finger with a napkin, she grabbed his hand and licked his finger clean. He was shifting in his seat now, so she was certain her actions were having the intended effect. 

She lowered her voice and said in a breathy whisper, “So if you don’t eat sweets, then what kind of dessert do you like?” She was channeling Marilyn Monroe and seriously hoping she was giving off a sexy sophisticated vibe. She felt like she was falling short.

Ben slid a little closer to her in the booth. The light touch of his fingers on her knee caused her to squeak in surprise. As his fingers ghosted up the inside of her thigh, he leaned in and whispered, “I usually prefer something a little spicier.” She could feel his warm breath on her neck.

“Is that so?” She turned her face into his and he pressed his lips to hers hungrily. 

As his tongue prodded the seam of her lips, she sighed and closed her eyes. He tasted like cappuccino. She grabbed the lapels of his jacket, pulling him even closer. 

She moaned into his open mouth as his fingers slid under her dress and coasted higher up her thigh. He stopped just short of where she needed him, teasing her thigh with light strokes. 

“Please.” She didn’t really know what she was asking for. Her body was trembling lightly in anticipation.

Ben chuckled and withdrew his hand.

“Not here.” He whispered into her hair.

Not here? Confusion flooded her until she remembered where she was. Holy Jesus. She had almost forgotten where she was!

As her lashes fluttered open, she spied their server approaching, with eyebrows raised. The server took one look at the pair and turned back the way she had come from, allowing them a little more privacy. Rey felt her cheeks redden. She released Ben’s jacket and slid away from him slightly in the booth. 

“So,” Ben cleared his throat, “I think we should … will you come home with me?” He blurted the last part out, his cheeks flushed.

Rey nodded and took a final sip of her cappuccino, scooting even farther away from Ben. She could see Lando approaching at a brisk pace, a serious look on his face. She sincerely hoped the server hadn’t told him what she had observed. She really didn’t want to end her evening by being thrown out of a restaurant. 

Lando leaned down to whisper in Ben’s ear. Rey couldn’t hear what he was saying, but she saw Ben’s face fall. He scrambled for his wallet and produced an Amex card. 

“We need the check, Lando. Rey, I’m sorry to cut our evening short. My Dad’s in the hospital. He’s been in an accident.”

Rey gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. “Oh my God, Ben! I’m so sorry.” 

“Kid, your money's no good here. It’s on the house. I’ll have the valet bring your car around. Rey, my dear, it was a pleasure to meet you. I hope we see each other soon.” 

As soon as Lando disappeared, Rey scooted closer to Ben and put a hand on top of his.

“Ben…” She said softly. Rey had no idea what to say to comfort him in a situation like this. She had no real family, other than her friends. She imagined how she would feel if it were Finn or Rose who had been injured.

“I’ll take you home first.” Ben mumbled. He was looking down at the table, avoiding her eyes.

She put a hand under his chin and forced him to look up at her. There were unshed tears gathering in his eyes. His jaw was clenched, as if he was trying very hard to contain himself. She felt a stab in the chest. Ben had mentioned a strained parental relationship but deep down he must really love his father. She didn’t want to leave him alone at a time like this.

“Ben, that's ridiculous. The hospital is only a few blocks from here. I can ride with you there and get an Uber home.” 

He nodded distractedly. “I’m sorry to ruin our evening.”

“Ruin? I think it’s been going pretty good so far. Come on, let’s go check on your Dad.”

She linked her fingers into his and stood, pulling him along behind her. He allowed her to lead them to the elevator. He looked so lost. She could be his anchor.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the lovely comments & kudos. I started another WIP earlier this week - a murder mystery based on Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express" - Ben is a Jedi Knight trying to solve a murder. It's called "Murder on the Coruscant Express." Check it out! At some point I'm going to update the mummy story, maybe by next week. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thank you for reading.

“What happened?” Ben practically shouted at his mother when they met in the corridor outside of the Emergency Room. The ride over from the restaurant had been a blur. Rey had dug her fingernails into the leather seats and closed her eyes as Ben had sped the few blocks across the city. She honestly didn’t know how they arrived in one piece. 

“It’s that damn airplane. You know I’ve been telling him he’s too old to fly but he won’t listen to me. You have to have a talk with him about not flying anymore.” Leia Organa-Solo looked sad and tired. There were lines of worry carved into her face. She was nervously toying with a string of pearls at her neck. Despite the stressful situation, she was impeccably dressed in a purple pantsuit, her hair twisted up into a French twist.

“He crashed the plane?” Ben choked out. 

Rey reached up and rubbed soothing circles on Ben’s back. She felt Leia’s eyes fall on her, observing as she tried to keep Ben calm.   


“No, he fell down the stairs getting off the plane. His leg is broken and he’s going to need surgery. He also hit his head, but Luke is in there now. They just did a CT scan of his head.”

“Oh my gosh!” Rey gasped and laced her fingers through Ben’s, squeezing his hand. He squeezed back, almost hard enough to crush her hand. She imagined sending calming energy down her arm and into him. His grip lightened as he let out a shuddering breath.

“Did he lose consciousness? Does he have a concussion?” Ben rattled off questions to his mother.

They were interrupted when Luke Skywalker emerged from Han’s room. “The head CT is clear. He has a pretty thick skull so chances of injury to his brain were small anyway. I’m clearing him for orthopedic surgery. They should have him up to surgery within the hour. He’s in a lot of pain so I don’t want a crowd in there. Just Leia for now.” 

Rey and Ben sat in the waiting room while Han was in surgery. To be more accurate, Rey sat while Ben paced back and forth. At some point, Rey drifted off to sleep. When she woke, she was curled up across several chairs and wearing Ben’s suit jacket as a blanket. She sat up, confused and blinked. Leia was in a chair opposite her, reading something on her phone. 

Rey looked around for Ben, and didn’t see him.

“He just went to the men’s room.” Leia supplied casually. “So, how long have you been dating my son?”

“Oh, well we met a few months ago, but tonight was our first official date.”

“Well, I’m sorry to ruin your date.” 

“It wasn’t ruined. How long was I out? Is Mr. Solo still in surgery?”

“They just finished up and he’s in the surgical stepdown unit. We can’t visit him until they get him to his regular recovery room, which should be very soon.”

Rey glanced at her telephone screen. It was three o’clock in the morning! There were several texts from Rose which she ignored for now. 

She stood up and stretched, and caught sight of Ben coming down the hallway. 

“Hi.” He said, kind of shyly. Rey smiled and planted a kiss on his cheek. 

“Thank you for the jacket.” She said. “I can’t believe I fell asleep.” 

“Well you had a belly full of two tiramisu plates. I can’t say I blame you.” Ben teased. 

They sat down side by side. Rey put her head on Ben’s shoulder, stifling a yawn. He put a hand on her knee. The warmth from his hand spread through her whole body.

“Did you get any sleep?” Rey asked quietly.

“He paced the whole time.” Leia interjected. “Well, he did stare at you quite a bit too.”

“ _ Mom _ .” Ben said quietly.

“What? You Solo men are like sad puppies when you fall in love.” 

Ben sighed heavily.

Rey felt a big smile spread across her face. Love?

“Mrs. Organa-Solo?” A nurse interrupted. “Your husband is in his room and ready for visitors. If you would like to follow me…”

***

When they entered Han’s room, the surgeon greeted them and gave them an update that surgery had gone well. Han Solo now had a plate and screws in his leg. Recovery would involve a lot of rest followed by extensive physical therapy. After discovering that Han had fallen asleep, Rey and Leia disappeared to the cafeteria in search of coffee. Ben stayed in the room with his father, waiting for him to wake up. Ben was starting to nod off in a chair when his father’s groggy voice pulled him awake.

“Am I dead?”

Ben laughed. “No, Dad. You’re not dead yet.”

“Ugh. I feel terrible.”

“You just had surgery on your leg. You fell down the stairs getting off the plane. Mom wants me to tell you that you're not allowed to fly anymore but I’m not going to do that.”

“I wouldn’t listen to you, even if you meant it.”

“I know.”

“You look snazzy. Hot date, huh?”

“Yeah and it was going pretty well until you got injured. Thanks for that.” Ben chuckled. “I’m not sure hanging out at the hospital is a good end to a date.”

Leia and Rey appeared at the door, coffees in hand.

“Han! You’re awake. How are you feeling?”

“Like shit. Is that coffee for me? How much whiskey is in it?”

While Leia and Han argued back and forth, Rey walked into the room and handed Ben a coffee.

“Dad, this is Rey Kenobi. Rey, this is my Dad, Han Solo.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Rey smiled down at Han.

“The pleasure is all mine.” Han said with a wink. “So, Rey, what do you do?”

“Right now I’m working as an illustrator for Kylo Ren’s new children’s book series.”

“But she’s not allowed to talk about it.” Ben interrupted.

“It’s not like there’s much for me to tell. I’ve never even met Kylo Ren. We just communicate through email.” 

Ben noticed his parents exchange a strange look. He narrowed his eyes, shifting uncomfortably.  _ Did they know? _ No. There was no way they knew. Luckily, Rey didn’t seem to notice the exchange.

“So, where did you two meet?” Han asked casually. “Was it at work?”

Rey laughed nervously. “Actually, no. We met in a bar.” 

“Nothing wrong with that.” Han said, “His mother and I met in an alley behind a bar. Place smelled like garbage. I still had sex with her.” 

“HAN!” Leia shouted.

“Dad!” Ben wanted to cover his ears or disappear. Rey’s eyes were wide and she seemed unsure how to react. This is why he never dated. Moments like this.

“What? They gave me good drugs.” Han laughed to himself. “Everything is funny.”

“That’s not exactly how we met.” Leia added.

“Whatever, Princess. You have your version of the story and I have mine.”

Ben sensed an argument about to begin, but they were saved by the ringing of Leia’s phone. She sighed and stepped outside to take the call. Probably hospital business. She was always being pulled away for some disaster or another.

“I don’t want to get in the way. I’ll leave you two to catch up. Mr. Solo, I’m glad your surgery went well. Ben, I’ll be in the waiting room.” Rey drifted out and Ben watched her go, unable to tear his eyes away.

“You’ve got it bad, huh kid?” 

Ben looked at his father and shrugged. “I suppose.” He muttered.

“Listen kid, you’ve got a bigger problem. Women always find out the truth.  _ Always _ .” 

“I don’t know what you mean, Dad.” His heart was pounding. He  _ did _ know what his Dad meant. He just couldn’t say it out loud.

“Are we going to pretend that you’re not Kylo Ren?”

Ben was stunned into silence. So they knew. Well….shit.

“After we had lunch a few months ago and you refused to work for the hospital administration, your mother did a little digging. She was worried that you had joined the mafia or something. You know how she gets. Anyway, she put it together.”

“I… uh. I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything to me, kid. Your mother and I are proud of you. The person you need to be talking to is out there.” Han nodded out the window to where Rey was sitting.

“It’s not that easy, Dad.”

“It’s not that complicated, kid.”

“If I tell her the truth, she’s going to quit. And she probably won’t want to see me again. I don’t want to lose her.”

“The longer you drag it out, the worse it will be when she finds out.”

“I know. I’m going to tell her. Just not right now. Soon.”

***

“Ohhh my. Walk of shame! Girl, it is almost ten o’clock!” Paige squealed at Rey as she walked into their apartment. 

“It wasn’t like that.” Rey said quietly. They had waited around in the hospital for a few hours after Han’s surgery. Once they were sure he was doing well, Ben offered Rey a ride home. She had declined his offer of breakfast. She badly needed more sleep.

“Sure.” Paige said with a laugh before disappearing to her room.

Rey was exhausted and her feet were killing her. She kicked off her heels and padded barefoot into the kitchen. She peeked in the fridge before deciding on yogurt. She walked back to her room to find Finn sitting on her bed. He looked upset.

He patted the empty space on the bed beside him and Rey sat down.

“Rey Rey, I need to tell you something important. And I don’t want you to freak out. I’m just going to spit it out and get it over with, OK?” Finn grabbed Rey’s hand.

“Ok. You’re freaking me out a little right now. What is it?” After spending all night at a hospital, Rey’s mind was assuming the worst. Was he sick? Dying?

“Poe and I bought a house and we are moving in thirty days.” 

“A house! Oh my God, that’s so exciting!” Rey felt relief at the happy announcement.

“That’s not all. Paige is going on tour with her boss for some fashion show thing that is supposed to last a year. Rose is moving back in with her parents to save money.”

“Are you trying to tell me that I’m going to be homeless in thirty days?” 

“No! Well...yes?” He looked so worried for her that she had trouble being upset.

“It’s Ok, Finn. I have some money now from my advance. I’ll be able to find a new place. Don’t worry about me.”

“You’re not mad?” He whispered, touching his forehead to Rey’s.

“How could I be mad at you? Buying a house is a very exciting thing. I’m actually a little jealous.”

“Don’t be. It’s a total dump. Everything needs to be re-done. You’re going to have to help me peel off about a thousand pounds of wallpaper.”

“Sounds like fun.” Rey laughed. “Alright, now get out of my room. I need a shower and a nap.”

“You didn’t get enough sleep last night at lover boy’s place?” Finn teased. She threw a pillow at him as he left the room.

Rey peeled off her black dress and jumped into a much needed hot shower. As the water ran over her sore and tired muscles, Rey thought about where she would end up living. She tried to tamp down her panic. Even with her advance, she might have trouble finding somewhere in her budget. Staying here was out of the question. This place was bigger than she needed and very costly, even when split five ways. Real estate was at a premium in Coruscant. What to do? She’d have to treat apartment hunting as her first priority. And, that might mean a missed deadline for Kylo. 

***

> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> I might be a few days late with the next few pages. I have to find a new place to live ASAP.
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> That’s OK. Are you alright? Did something happen with your roommates?
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> The guys are newlyweds just bought a house of their own. Paige is leaving town for work and Rose is moving back home to save money. I’m on my own again.
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> I actually know someone who is looking to rent out her place for a while. My old illustrator Amilyn Holdo is moving to Yavin for a while and wants to rent out her studio. It’s in the Garden District. Lots of light and big windows. I’m sure she’d give you a good deal on it. I’ll have Hux send you the info if you want to see it.
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Amilyn Holodo’s studio??? Of course I want to see it! Although I doubt that I can afford something in the Garden District. Send me the info.
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> I’m on it. By the way, how was your date?
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Amazing. We went to The Resistance. Very delicious and romantic. How was your date?
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> Also amazing, although I haven’t been totally honest with her. I have something I need to tell her and I’m afraid she won’t be happy with me after I do.
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Are you going to tell her that you are secretly a serial killer? Or that you’re married? Are you a spy? International jewel thief?
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> No. Nothing like that. 
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Then just tell her and get it over with. I speak on behalf of the female population when I say we ain’t got time for drama.
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> Why does everyone think it’s so easy to tell someone a secret?
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Because it is? 

Ben sighed and closed his laptop. He had to figure out how to fix things before they got even more out of control. Chewie padded over and nuzzled his face into Ben’s lap.

“I’m in trouble, boy. Big trouble.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major angst ahead. Don't hate me, it will resolve very quickly. ;)  
> Also, as always, thank you for all the comments and kudos. If you enjoy this one, please check out my other works:  
> Completed - Ten Wise Jedi - Agatha Christie Style murder mystery  
> Completed - The Neighborhood - FBI Agents Ben & Rey. X-Files vibes  
> Completed - Flight #923 - A time loop story about a plane crash on a tropical island.  
> WIP - Valley of the Dead - Historical AU with Egyptologist Ben Solo, thief Rey and a mummy!  
> WIP - You Imagine an Ocean - Pirate Ben Solo  
> WIP - Hello Again, Little Rabbit - dark vampire story  
> WIP - Murder on the Coruscant Express - Inspired by Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express

“Rey, I have something to tell you and I don’t want you to get mad at me. Well, I mean, it’s probably not as big a deal as I’m making it out to be. Maybe you won’t even be mad. The thing is . . . well, what I mean to say is that . . . I am Kylo Ren.” 

“I’m your boss. I’m Kylo Ren.”

“Funny story,” he chuckled nervously, “as fate would have it...no. This is dumb. She probably doesn’t believe in fate. Well, boy? What do you think I should say?”

Ben Solo looked down to the border collie at his feet. He was standing in his bathroom, practicing in front of the mirror. He was hoping to come up with the explanation that made him seem like less of an asshole but not feeling confident that he had accomplished that task. Chewie covered his nose with a paw and whined. 

“That bad, huh?”

“What in God’s name are you doing?” Hux was leaning casually against the bathroom door frame. “Are you giving yourself a pep talk or something?”

“I’m practicing an apology.”

“Well, that’s good because you really suck at those. Who’d you piss off this time? Your Mom again?”

“Rey Kenobi.”

“Rey Kenboi?”

“Rey Kenobi.”

“The Rey Kenobi that I just helped move into Amilyn Holdo’s old place, as per your instructions?”

“Yes.”

“The Rey Kenobi whose best friend I am crazy about so you better not fuck it up for me??”

“Yes. That Rey.” There was a slight irritated tone to Ben’s voice this time. Had he not been clear enough yet? 

“Well, how bad did you fuck up? Any contract violations that could get us sued?”

“No?”

“That didn’t sound convincing. Should I call the lawyer?”

“No, no. I don’t think it’s that bad.” 

“Ok. So fix it.”

“I’m trying to. It’s just . . . she’s the woman I met at the bar. The girl who ran away. She doesn’t know that Ben Solo and Kylo Ren are the same person.”

“You fucking idiot.” 

“I know. I’m working on it. She’ll know by the end of the week. I promise.”

***

A soft knocking at her new condo door caused Rey to squeal and spring off of the couch. Ben was finally here! She hadn’t been able to see him since the hospital and almost a whole week had already passed. She had been very busy working, to be fair. And he had been spending a lot of time with his Dad.

On Monday, Hux had shown her Amilyn Holdo’s condo which, obviously, she had fallen in love with immediately. Hux had made the call and Amilyn agreed to rent it to her at a very reasonable price. She had paperwork signed before the end of business on Monday. By Tuesday, she was already making trips to her new place with her toiletries and clothing. Rose and Hux had helped with some of her smaller furniture, but for the most part, Amilyn’s place was already furnished. 

Kylo had been right about the light. The windows were huge. The apartment was south facing and had good light all day long. On her first night here, Rey had stood in front of the windows watching the city, counting the stars as they appeared. She was totally inspired. The next morning, she had furiously drawn her sketches for the rest of the pages in the book. She was officially ahead of schedule now.

The sleep was the best she had ever had. It was so quiet on this side of town. There were no roommates to disturb her. There was a king sized bed in the loft section. King sized! The whole bed was bigger than her entire old room. She couldn’t wait to break it in, with Ben of course. 

She swung the door open to find Ben holding a bottle of champagne and a bag of carry-out food.

“I come bearing gifts! Fresh sushi from the place around the corner and pink champagne. I don’t know anything about champagne but the guy at the liquor store said girls like it because it’s pink.” Ben followed Rey toward the kitchen and set the food down on the island. His eyes scanned the apartment. “This is a pretty sweet place. Congratulations.”

“Thanks! I feel like such a grown up in this place. There is one problem though.” Rey said, her voice turning serious.

“What?”

“The bed.”

“The bed? What’s wrong with the bed?”

_ He looks so cute when he’s confused. _

“You’re not in it.” Rey peeled off her t-shirt and pushed down her yoga pants to reveal a lacy red bra and panties. The tiny scrap of lace underwear covered barely anything at all. It was 100% the most uncomfortable pair of panties she had ever worn but 1000% worth it just to see the look on his face.

“Woah. Holy fuck. You look incredible, but I want to tell you something first.” 

Rey reached up and pulled her hair out of its bun, allowing curls to topple to her shoulders. 

“Were you going to tell me how absolutely gorgeous I am and how badly you want to fuck me? Or do you maybe need a little encouragement?” Rey slowly closed the distance between them, reaching for Ben’s belt buckle. She pulled his pants and boxers down and sank to her knees on the floor. She was pleased to see that he didn’t really need any further encouragement. Her tiny hand wrapped around his cock.

“Wait, what are you--? Ughh.” He groaned as she took the tip of him into her mouth and swirled her tongue. He buried his fingers in her hair and guided her head as it bobbed up and down. She knew next to nothing about what she was doing, but if his moans and the rocking of his hips were any indication then she was on the right track. 

He uttered a string of obscenities and she used her own saliva to lubricate her hand, pumping at the base of his cock. Clenching her own thighs together, she was surprised to discover that she was actually getting turned on by this. She always heard girls in college complaining about doing this but it was highly enjoyable. Spurned on by her own pleasure, she tried to take him into her mouth as far as possible. She gagged as he hit the back of her throat. Worried that her gagging would turn him off, she glanced up at his face. His eyes were closed and his head was thrown back.

“Fuck, baby, I’m gonna come.” The words had no sooner been uttered than Rey felt him release into her mouth. She quickly swallowed the salty fluid down then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Ben pulled her to standing and kissed her forcefully.

“Did you like that?” She asked hesitantly.

“Yes, but there’s just one problem.” He whispered, scooping her up into his arms in a bridal style carry.

“Oh?” She asked with feigned innocence.

“We still haven’t made it to the bed yet.”

***

After they came up for air, they sprawled across Rey’s bed feeding each other pieces of sushi and drinking the pink champagne.

“So what did you want to talk about earlier?” Rey asked, shoving another piece of a Dragon Roll in her mouth.

“I just wanted to say that ….I really appreciate you staying with me at the hospital. It meant a lot to me. I really, really like you and I’m afraid that I’m going to mess this up. I, um … I need you to know that I am Ky-”   
  


“Ben, stop.” Rey put her hand over his mouth. “You’re not going to mess this up. You don’t have anything to worry about. I really really like you too. Now stop hogging the California Rolls.”

***

> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> I want to thank you for everything. It has been one hell of a week. I have my own place now! Amilyn is letting me stay here at a very nice discount. I didn’t have to buy any furniture and she is letting me use any art supplies she left behind. She has tubes of paint here worth thousands of dollars. I have access to oil paints. OIL PAINTS. It’s insane!
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> I’m glad you are happy. When can I expect the next pages?
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> As luck would have it, I am already finished. I was so inspired by this awesome place this week that I have finished all my sketches. I’m sending them over now.
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> That’s impressive. I was thinking that now would be a good time for us to meet. We should really sit down together and go through the completed draft and see if we need to make any edits or changes. 
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Am I having a stroke or something? Is my tweed-wearing hermit suggesting that we get together? You realize that will mean going out in public?
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> Yes. How about this Friday, say 11 AM? There’s a pizza place in the Garden District called “Slice” that is usually not very busy that early. We wouldn’t be disturbed at that time of day. 
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Ok. Sounds good to me. I’ll send you a picture so you know what I look like. I’ll be looking for the old man in a tweed jacket. Don’t disappoint me. Just kidding (but not really. Please wear tweed).
> 
> **_Kylo Ren_ **
> 
> I don’t actually own any tweed.
> 
> **_Rey Kenobi_ **
> 
> Dream crusher.

***

When Rey arrived at Slice (a full half an hour early) the restaurant was practically empty. She selected a table in front of a window that gave her a view of the front door. She had dressed up, wearing a pink silk blouse and a short black leather mini skirt. She remembered Kylo once saying he preferred leather. She knew it might be stupid, but she wanted to make a good impression on him. She was probably wearing too much makeup, but it was too late to undo that now.

She sat cross legged, bobbing her foot impatiently as the clock ticked closer to 11. Every time the door opened, she looked up expectantly to see if Kylo Ren was here yet. The appointed time came and went, and her lunch date had not arrived. Rey began to chew on her fingernails, destroying the gel manicure she had just paid for yesterday. Maybe she should look at the menu or something to keep herself distracted. When a waitress circled around, she ordered a beer while she waited for Kylo.

The door opened again and an unexpected familiar face entered. What was Ben doing here? He walked in with his hands crammed into the pockets of his leather jacket. When he saw her, his megawatt smile spread across his face. She waved excitedly.

“Ben? Hey! What are you doing here?”

“Hi, sweetheart. I’m just grabbing some lunch.” He said with a laugh. “Is this seat taken?”

“Technically yes, but when my lunch meeting arrives you have to go. I’m meeting Kylo today.” She whispered the last part. She felt a small stab of guilt. She hadn’t told Ben that she was meeting Kylo today. It wasn’t a big secret or anything. But she hadn’t told him and she wasn’t really sure why.

She saw his eyes drift to the hem of her mini skirt. Would he be jealous that she had dressed up like this to meet Kylo? She felt yet another small stab of guilt. Was she overdoing it? She liked Ben, she really really did. But she also enjoyed her banter with Kylo. She had no idea what she would do if Kylo turned out to be even half as good looking as Ben. Ugh, and this was going to be a super awkward meeting if Ben was here at the same time as Kylo. If Ben witnessed her internal struggle, he didn’t say anything. He seemed kinda distracted too.

He sat in the seat across from Rey, grabbing her menu to peruse. When the waitress came back around, he also ordered a beer. 

Rey glanced nervously at the screen of her phone. No missed calls, no text messages, no emails. Kylo was fifteen minutes late.

“He’s late. At what point do I consider that I’m being stood up?” Rey felt sick to her stomach and the beer was not exactly calming her nerves.

“Oh, I think at least an hour?” Ben said absentmindedly as he scanned the menu. He sighed and set the menu down on the table. Looking at Rey he blurted out, “I need to tell you something really important.”

Rey looked up from her phone with a worried wrinkle in her brow. “Is it your Dad again? Did something happen?”

“What? No. Dad’s fine. He’s great. He’s been overly flirtatious with the home nurses but otherwise fine.”

“Ok. Then what is it? You look like you want to barf and it’s freaking me out a little.”

“I am--” He paused when a woman in a vintage Chanel skirt suit placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Excuse me. I hate to interrupt your lunch. You probably don’t remember me. I’m Marcia Antilles. My husband, Wedge, used to work with you at Corellian House.”

_ Ben …. worked at Corellian House? _

“I remember. How is he enjoying retirement?”

“He loves it. Although he misses the excitement of the city. I was hoping I might ask you for your autograph? My grandson adores your books. He is so excited for the new series.” The woman dug around in her purse while still talking.

Rey sat frozen, her beer halfway to her mouth. Puzzle pieces were falling into place, locking together, forming the truth that had been in front of her eyes the entire time. She looked to Ben, who was now flushed red. He accepted the paper and pen that the woman handed him.

“What’s your grandson’s name?” He asked quietly.

“Toby.”

Rey, still frozen, but now beginning to tremble uncontrollably, watched as Ben scrawled a thoughtful note and signed in the unmistakable flourishing signature ‘Kylo Ren.’

When Marcia left, the pair sat at their table in silence. Ben set both his hands on the tabletop and leaned forward. He opened his mouth to speak but Rey cut in first.

“You're Kylo Ren? Of course you are! I’m so stupid. The Adventures of Benji and Chewie? You are Benji. And your dog, the border collie, is Chewie?” She was unable to stop the tears from forming in her eyes. 

“I tried to tell you.”

“Tried? What does that even mean?” The first tear streaked down her cheek, followed by several more. She dashed the tears away with an angry swipe.

“I was going to tell you today. That’s why I asked you to meet me here.” His voice was calm and quiet, like he was trying to soothe her. It had the opposite effect, fanning the flames of her anger.

“Sure it is. I can’t believe it. Was this all some big joke to you? I don’t even.... ugh. You know what? Fuck this. I’m leaving.” Rey stood and threw her napkin down on the table.

“Please Rey, don’t run away from me again.” He grabbed her wrist as she stepped away from the table.

She shot him an icy glare, her voice unrecognizable and choked with emotion. “Don’t you dare.”

  
Ben released his grip and allowed the best thing that ever happened to him to walk away.   


**Author's Note:**

> Check out my other works!!  
> Completed - Ten Wise Jedi - Agatha Christie Style murder mystery  
> Completed - The Neighborhood - FBI Agents Ben & Rey. X-Files vibes  
> Completed - Flight #923 - A time loop story about a plane crash on a tropical island.  
> WIP - Valley of the Dead - Historical AU with Egyptologist Ben Solo, thief Rey and a mummy!  
> WIP - You Imagine an Ocean - Pirate Ben Solo  
> WIP - Hello Again, Little Rabbit - dark vampire story


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